Au plus près du paradis (2002)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Tonie Marshall

Writers:

Tonie Marshall (scenario and dialogue) and
Anne-Louise Trividic (scenario and dialogue) ...

Release Date:

20 November 2002 (France)

Genre:

Romance

Plot:

People and life can be cruel, and in their face, Fannette is cool: toward an old acquaintance, to her daughter...

Plot Keywords:

School Mate | Friend | Passion | Paris | Rain

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Fanette
William Hurt	...	Matt
Bernard Le Coq	...	Bernard
Hélène Fillières	...	Lucie
Gilbert Melki	...	Alain
Nathalie Richard	...	Brigitte
Patrice Chéreau	...	Pierre
Noémie Godin-Vigneau	...	Carole
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Jeune femme cinéma
Daniel Pommereulle	...	L'éditeur
François Arnal	...	Himself
Christian Cloarec	...	Videur cinéma
Paulina Porizkova	...	Mary Rafelson
Thomas Beckett
Merwin Goldsmith

Also Known As:

Lo más cercano al cielo (Spain)
Nearest to Heaven (International: English title)

Runtime:

90 min | Italy:100 min (Venice Film Festival)

Country:

France | Spain | Canada

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Spain:T | Canada:G

Company:

Canal+

Movie Connections:

Features An Affair to Remember (1957)

Charming

This film has grown on me with each repeat viewing. Deneuve is in every scene, so it helps if you are a fan, but then how can you not be? The film demonstrates on one level the connection that people can have with the cinema. How it turns a visual image into a feeling, and how also we can live vicariously through it. The director Tonie Marshall wanted Deneuve for this film, and if she had said no, the film would not have been made, it was Deneuve or nobody. This was because Marshal felt, as I have come to over the years, that Deneuve belongs to cinema. She is a legend. When you find a connection it should be kept, whether it is through an actor/actress, character particular film etc. Deneuve on screen represents film and everything about it, how she conveys feelings etc. The film sees Fannette try to find Phillipe, the love of her life from 30 years ago. She is recreating her own scene from An Affair to Remember, where they meet at the top of the Empire State Building. The film is sad at the same time as hopeful. The repeat viewings allow you to see the different layers of the film that are not apparently obvious at the 1st viewing. It can be seen as a romcom sort of film if you wish. But it is so much more. I hope you enjoy it, I am.