Brodeuses (2004)

Director:

Éléonore Faucher

Writers:

Éléonore Faucher (writer)
Gaëlle Macé (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

13 October 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Claire (Nymark), an unmarried pregnant teenager, finds an odd relation in Madame Mélikian (Ascaride), an older woman grieving over the death of her son.

Plot Keywords:

Coming Of Age | Unwanted Pregnancy | Physical Examination | Small Town | Romance

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Lola Naymark	...	Claire Moutiers
Ariane Ascaride	...	Mme. Mélikian
Marie Félix	...	Lucile
Thomas Laroppe	...	Guillaume
Arthur Quehen	...	Thomas
Jackie Berroyer	...	M. Lescuyer (as Jacky Berroyer)
Anne Canovas	...	Mme. Lescuyer
Marina Tomé	...	Gynecologist
Elisabeth Commelin	...	Mme. Moutiers
Christophe Hatey	...	Butcher
François Noël	...	Bike Guy
Yasmine Modestine	...	Nurse
Annie-Claude Sauton	...	Baker
Nathalie Kirzin	...	Round Woman
Ludivine Morissonaud	...	Clotilde

Directed by
Éléonore Faucher

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Éléonore Faucher		writer
Gaëlle Macé		adaptation
Gaëlle Macé		dialogue

Produced by
Alain Benguigui	....	producer
Audrey Tondre	....	assistant producer
Bertrand Van Effenterre	....	producer
Thomas Verhaeghe	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michael Galasso

Cinematography by
Pierre Cottereau

Film Editing by
Joële Van Effenterre

Casting by
Nathaniele Esther

Production Design by
Philippe van Herwijnen

Costume Design by
Pascaline Suty

Makeup Department
Mayté Alonso	....	makeup artist
Jimmy Springard	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Delphine Brunet	....	unit production manager trainee
Marc Eloy	....	production manager
Sylvian Ravel	....	assistant unit manager
Isabelle Soyer	....	unit production manager
Thomas Verhaeghe	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fabrice Nordmann	....	first assistant director
Mélanie Ravot	....	trainee assistant director
Pierre Saint Blanquat	....	second assistant director (as Saint-Blanquat)

Art Department
Laurent Allet-Ballul	....	construction manager
Bernard Beysseriat	....	painter
Chana	....	property master
Sophie Chandoutis	....	assistant art director
Julien Marty	....	assistant art director
Pascaline Pitiot	....	assistant art director
Jérôme Praste	....	carpenter
Claude Sangiorgi	....	carpenter
Laurence Tallon	....	set dresser
Laurent Thevenot	....	head painter
Gilles Tissot	....	additional set decorator

Sound Department
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Armel Durassier	....	boom operator
François Guillaume	....	sound
Mélissa Petitjean	....	sound mixer
Mathias Rifkiss	....	boom operator
Alexandra Strauss	....	dialogue editor
Jean-Noël Yven	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Philippe Billon	....	second assistant camera
Alain Dahan	....	grip
Alain Demeersseman	....	grip
Mathieu Dequirot	....	electrician
Rémy Grandroques	....	still photographer
Jean Legrand	....	first assistant camera
Eric Lesage	....	key grip
Yannick Morvan	....	electrician
Olivier Pilorget	....	gaffer
Julien Roux	....	additional assistant camera

Casting Department
Maguy Aimé	....	casting assistant
Sophie Bouyer	....	casting assistant
Laurence Lamon	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nadja Berruyer	....	embroidery
Laurence Tallon	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Patrick Crucy	....	color timer
Pascal Massonneau	....	color timer
Alexandra Strauss	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Christiane Bornet	....	location scout
Sandrine Bourgoin	....	script supervisor
Marc Faye	....	location scout (as Marco Faye)
Pierre Molina	....	location scout
Nicolas Worms	....	location scout

Thanks
Elisabeth Depardieu	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Sombrero Productions
• Mallia Films
• Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
• Canal+ (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Région Poitou-Charentes (participation)
• Centre Européen Cinématographique Rhône-Alpes (participation)
• Département de la Charente
• Fondation GAN pour le Cinéma

Distributors

• Pyramide Distribution (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2004-2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cine Qua Non Films (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinequanon (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Telexcel (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)

Other Companies

• Dovidis  foley
• Ercidan  titles
• Iris Camera  camera equipment provided by
• Locaflash  electrical equipment
• Telegrip  grip equipment

Also Known As:

A Common Thread (International: English title)
Brodeuse (France) (working title)
Sequins (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

France

Language:

Armenian | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:AL | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Angoulême, Charente, France

Company:

Sombrero Productions

Drawing A Bead On Quality

This is the kind of film that gives 'Art House' a good name. Given the title and style it compares favorably with La Dentelliere and that is praise indeed. The story is simplicity itself; a young supermarket worker, Claire Moutiers (Lola Naymark) with a passion for embroidery and a life that is going nowhere becomes pregnant almost in passing. Having no real attachment to the father she has to decide how to deal with the situation. Her first move is to approach a local embroiderer, Madame Melikian (Ariane Ascaride) for a job. M. Melikian has her own problems; her son has recently died in a road accident and by chance, his friend Guillaume (Thomas Laroppe) who survived the tragedy albeit at the expense of a badly scarred face, is the brother of Claire's friend Lucile. Soon after starting her new job Claire finds M Melikian comatose in the wake of a suicide attempt and alerts the authorities. From then on the film becomes a story of friendship, trust, healing and love. I doubt if there is a speech longer than two sentences from beginning to end, instead there are stunningly simple visuals like Clair cutting cabbages (in French 'cabbage' is an endearment as in ma petite chou) or Madame Melikian's hand touching that of Guillaume when Claire brings them face to face. The film builds its effects the way the two leads assemble a tapestry, slowly, painstakingly, one stitch at a time. In a film where every performance is way above average the two leads stand out like twin beacons, one (Naymark) remarkable and one (Ascaride) magnificent. One of the finest films of the last few years.