Promenons-nous dans les bois (2000)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Lionel Delplanque

Writers:

Lionel Delplanque (adaptation)
Annabelle Perrichon (writer)

Release Date:

14 June 2000 (Belgium)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't go there alone!

Plot:

A group of artists, composed of the young actors Wilfried and Matthieu and the actresses Sophie, Mathilde and the dumb Jeanne...

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Castle | Police | Birthday | Grandson

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Marie Trintignant	...	La mère
Suzanne MacAleese	...	Pélagie
Maud Buquet	...	Mathilde
Alexia Stresi	...	Jeanne
Denis Lavant	...	Stéphane
Vincent Lecoeur	...	Wilfried
Michel Muller	...	Le policier
François Berléand	...	Axel de Fersen
Clotilde Courau	...	Sophie
Clément Sibony	...	Matthieu
Thibault Truffert	...	Nicolas

Directed by
Lionel Delplanque

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lionel Delplanque		adaptation
Annabelle Perrichon		writer

Produced by
Olivier Delbosc	....	producer
Pierrick Goter	....	executive producer
Marc Missonnier	....	producer

Original Music by
Jérôme Coullet

Cinematography by
Denis Rouden

Film Editing by
Alice Lary
Pomme Zhed

Casting by
Stéphane Foenkinos

Production Design by
Arnaud de Moleron
Franck Monseigny

Costume Design by
Edith Bréhat

Makeup Department
Nadine Bournazeau	....	makeup artist
Guillaume Castagné	....	special makeup effects artist
Nana Chiabaut	....	key makeup artist
Denis Gastou	....	special makeup effects artist
Sylvie Greco	....	makeup artist
Pierre-Paul Jayne	....	special makeup effects artist
Olivia Lequimener	....	hair stylist
Pascal Molina	....	special makeup effects artist
Ariane Moreau	....	special makeup effects artist
Jean-Christophe Spadaccini	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Annie Dautane	....	production supervisor
Bertrand Girard	....	assistant production manager
Emmanuel Jacquelin	....	production manager
Roxanne Pinheiro	....	unit manager
Guillaume Sion	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Freddy Busso	....	first assistant director
Jérôme Debusschère	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sandrine Canaux	....	set dresser
Nicolas Contre	....	property master
Nicolas Doyon	....	construction coordinator
Emmanuel Marais	....	props

Sound Department
Philippe Amouroux	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lucien Balibar	....	sound
Guillaume Bouchateau	....	sound mixer
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Aymeric Devoldère	....	sound
Jeremy Hoenack	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cyril Holtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alexandre Landon	....	sound recordist
Fabrice Sauré	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Jean-Claude Dauphinot	....	special effects
Georges Demétrau	....	fire and mechanical effects
Bruno Maillard	....	special effects supervisor
Benoît Squizzato	....	special effects
Olivier Zenenski	....	special effects
Alain Couty	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
François Dumoulin	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Virginie Arnaud	....	stunts
Alain Barbier	....	stunts
Philippe Guégan	....	stunt coordinator
Cyril Raffaelli	....	stunts (as Cyril Cuenel Raffaelli)
Frédéric Vallet	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeremie Alexandre	....	video assist operator
Nouredyne Amroun	....	second assistant camera
Avel Corre	....	electrician
Thibault Grabherr	....	still photographer
Cyril Kuhnholtz	....	grip
Michel Lebray	....	gaffer
Pierre-Alain Lods	....	camera operator
Cyril Mulon	....	first assistant camera
Denis Paillieux	....	electrician
Jérôme Pezzini	....	grip
Pablo Ponce	....	first assistant camera
Yan Ricord	....	key grip
Michel Rodas	....	Steadicam operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Florence Davoust	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Stéphanie Araud	....	assistant editor
Denis Parrot	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Céline Breuil-Japy	....	continuity
Céline Breuil-Japy	....	script supervisor
Matthieu Doze	....	choreographer
Gaëtane Josse	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Cofimage 11
• Fidélité Productions
• Gimages 3
• Glozel Diffusion
• Studio Images 6

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2000) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2001) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (200?) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (Germany)
• Artisan Entertainment
• Barnholtz Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Cinema Epoch (USA) (theatrical release)
• DaniaVIP
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Pathé
• Phaedra Cinema (USA)
• SBP (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (Argentina) (VHS)
• Tartan (2004) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Deep in the Woods (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and sexuality, and for brief language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

In English the films title "Promenons-nous dans les bois" translates to "Let's Go For A Walk In The Woods."

Soundtrack:

Peter and the Wolf

Extremely stylish and atmospheric - and somewhat boring

I had great expectations for this movie. Since I am a great fan of Dario Argento and his Italian giallos I was thrilled to hear about this french little "giallo-imitation". The beginning with a mother, her child and a murderer is stunning and kept me glued to my seat. After that we are suddenly in the company of five youths (three girls, two guys) in their early twenties and even if they are quite alright for this kind of movie, they are not very interesting.

Things perk up a bit when they arrive to their destination, a beautiful castle somewhere on the french countryside, and meet their host, a rather creepy guy in a wheelchair who makes sexual advances to one of the boys. He has an autistic son who stares ominously throughout the picture and he is quite eerie actually. The movie still looks great and there is a fair amount of tension for half an hour or so.

But after this introduction of almost all of the characters NOTHING HAPPENS for quite a while. We get quite a few scenes with some tension, but no payoff. Since it is a french production, they also throw in some female full frontal nudity in a lesbian love scene for those who like that sort of thing (I don't..). There is a police showing up from nowhere and he disappears just within a few minutes for some reason, only to show up briefly at the end. And the play these youngsters perform is truly abominable. If I had hired these actors I would have asked for a refund!

The final half hour is a little better (when the killings start - they are lensed in a loving, stylish and gory way), but unfortunately the story never gets really exciting or involving. Real suspense is sadly lacking for the most part. There is a great potential buried somewhere here, but apart from the gorgeous visuals and assured directing, it is mostly ignored. The acting is okay I guess (and most of the cast look good!). Clotilde Courau is an adequate heroine, but has tends to laugh hysterically in all the wrong places. It really got on my nerves in the end.

The camera LOVES Vincent Lecoeur but he hasn't a lot to work with like most of the others. * minor spoiler * The only part with some teeth is Axel de Fersen (the wheelchair guy) and actor François Berléand really hams it up entertainingly in that part. And the old horror movie cliché is still valid, a man or woman in a wheelchair certainly has some hidden secrets. *End of spoiler *

After all this you might expect me to dislike this movie. Wrong! I truly enjoyed it for a number of reasons. It's gaudy look and big-budget visuals (it really is a feast for the eyes). One of the first shots is a bird against a slightly cloudy sky and that image is almost worth the price of admission alone. The luxurious and atmospheric score that accompanies all the mayhem is classy and nice. The murder set-pieces that are choreographed with assurance and style. Let's just hope that this director can sink his teeth in a better script next time. Then we might TRULY be able to look forward to a great horror movie, one that even could become a classic within it's genre!