Rois et reine (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

Roger Bohbot (writer)
Arnaud Desplechin (writer)

Release Date:

22 December 2004 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Parallel storylines tell the current state of affairs for two ex-lovers: Nora's a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father; holed in up in mental ward, Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape.

Plot Keywords:

Grenoble | Paris | Psychiatric Hospital | Adoption | Orphan

Awards:

9 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Emmanuelle Devos	...	Nora Cotterelle
Mathieu Amalric	...	Ismaël Vuillard
Catherine Deneuve	...	Mme Vasset
Maurice Garrel	...	Louis Jenssens
Nathalie Boutefeu	...	Chloé Jenssens
Jean-Paul Roussillon	...	Abel Vuillard
Magali Woch	...	Arielle, la "chinoise"
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Maître Marc Mamanne
Noémie Lvovsky	...	Elizabeth
Elsa Wolliaston	...	Dr. Devereux (as Elsa Woliaston)
Geoffrey Carey	...	Claude
Valentin Lelong	...	Elias Cotterelle
Thierry Bosc	...	M. Mader
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean-Jacques
Olivier Borle	...	Le moniteur

Also Known As:

Kings & Queen (USA)
Kings and Queen (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:150 min | USA:150 min | Argentina:150 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Hungary:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | France:U | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Grenoble, Isère, France

Company:

Why Not Productions

Trivia:

Visa d'exploitation en France #102243

Quotes:

Nora Cotterelle: There are four men I loved. I killed two of them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Trust the Man (2005)

Soundtrack:

Pavane pour une Infante défunte

Compelling but Bloated French Melodrama

Nora (the devastating and luminous Emmanuelle Devos) is a single mother who suddenly has to care for her dying father (a successful writer straining to put the finishing touches on his last book, a memoir of sorts) on the eve of marrying her new suitor. Ismael (the fantastic Mathieu Amalric) is her "ex-boyfriend" who cared for her son most of the boy's life, and is a struggling musician who suddenly finds himself trapped in the loony bin thanks to an over-zealous sister, a bitter friend, and a "judicial error." Director Desplechin (this is the only film I have seen of his) does a nice job flipping back and forth between the utter bleakness and emotional hell of caring for a dying parent, and the absurd serio-comic-horror of being stuck in the "crazy hospital" against your will.

There's a lot of play with psychoanalysis (highlighted by Catherine Denueve in a bit part as a psychiatrist) that is fun and illuminating to watch. There's speckles of romance, dark humor, nihilism, magic realism, and soap opera theatrics with lots of references to philosophy, mythology, and poetry that keep the film interesting and unpredictable even as its over two and a half hour run time tries your patience. There are plenty of revelations and big emotional payoffs here punctuated well with eclectic music choices (everything from classical pieces to some sort of catchy European hip-hop) and nice little surprises (Magalie Woch is delightful as the lovely suicidal mental patient who becomes smitten with Ismael). This utterly French film gives the viewer a lot to chew on, even if you have to gnaw through a bit of gristle before dining on the fillet mignon.