Mécaniques célestes (1995)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Fina Torres

Writers:

Yves Belaubre (co-adaptation)
Yves Belaubre (co-dialogue)

Release Date:

17 May 1995 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Ana bolts from her wedding altar and flies from Venezuela to Paris (in her wedding gown) to realize her dream of becoming a great opera star...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Opera | Cinderella | Lesbian | Roommate

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Ariadna Gil	...	Ana
Arielle Dombasle	...	Céleste
Evelyne Didi	...	Alcanie
Lluís Homar	...	Italo Medici
Frédéric Longbois	...	Armand
Hildegarde García Madriz	...	Toutou
Michel Debrane	...	Grigorief
Olivier Granier	...	Claude
Alma Rosa Castellanos	...	Lucila
Philippe Beautier	...	Hervé
Pedro De Llano	...	Marlano
Chantal Aimée	...	Tina
Dominique Abel	...	Gaby
Didier Azoulay	...	Pierre-Jean
Elsa Maurus	...	Ana (singing voice)

Also Known As:

Celestial Clockwork (USA)
Mecánicas celestes (Spain)

Runtime:

Canada:83 min | UK:85 min

Country:

France | Belgium | Spain

Language:

French | Italian | Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:6 | Spain:T

Company:

Bastille Films

Quotes:

Armand: Nothing is beyond the reach of celestial clockwork.

Soundtrack:

Salsaben

A psychedelic whirl thru the Latin American world of Paris

Cannes Camera d'Or winning director, Fina Torres gives us one of the most eclectic, visually and ethnically rich takes of the Cinderella story ever, in a modern, realistic (I'm serious) setting. A hit at Sundance in '95, Ms. Torres announced here at its post-Sundance premiere, that the film had not only picked up US distribution, but remake rights had been bought by Disney. By all means, SEE THIS ONE. Don't wait for the Disney remake! A co-production in the broadest sense(Venezuelan-French-Belgian-Portuguese-Spanish), CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK, manages to add to this melange Cuban, Afro-Caribbean, Italian, gay, and operatic elements and characters. European stars, the French Arielle Dombasle(as Celeste) and the Spanish Ariadne Gil ("Cinderella") both showing off credible Latin American Spanish accents are excellent as the leading rivals.(The film also has extensive French and English dialogue.) Buy or see the movie for its visuals and hilarious plot, and don't forget the soundtrack (the first thing I bought), featuring some of the best Latin sounds of any movie this decade, not to mention the beautiful arias from the opera "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella) on which the movie is loosely based. The Ariadne Gil character is an opera singer, Arielle Dombasle's is a gorgeous techno-pop performer, while their entourage dances to salsa and party music. Sounds too far-fetched? It's not. It all makes sense and satifies all your senses. To round out its far-reaching cultural diversity, the film's Spanish speaking characters have a happy Hollywood ending, in fluent French.