Les témoins (2007)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

André Téchiné (scenario, adaptation and dialogue) and
Laurent Guyot (scenario, adaptation and dialogue) ...

Release Date:

7 March 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Paris, 1984: A group of friends contend with the first outbreak of the AIDS epidemic.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | AIDS | Death | Opera Singer | Doctor

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Michel Blanc	...	Adrien
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Sarah
Sami Bouajila	...	Mehdi
Julie Depardieu	...	Julie
Johan Libéreau	...	Manu
Constance Dollé	...	Sandra
Lorenzo Balducci	...	Steve
Alain Cauchi	...	Sheriff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Barbas	...	Medhi's colleague
Xavier Beauvois	...	L'éditeur
Raphaëline Goupilleau	...	La mère de Julie et Manu
Jacques Nolot	...	Le patron de l'hôtel
Maïa Simon	...	La mère de Sarah
Bertrand Soulier	...	Doctor #1

Also Known As:

The Witnesses (International: English title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

UGC Distribution

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one of the first sequence you can see slightly blurred in the background the logo of the LCL bank (yellow letters on a blue background). The LCL name/logo was only introduced around 2005 and there did not exist yet in 1984.

Movie Connections:

References Amici miei atto II (1982)

Soundtrack:

I'm A Lover

Pushed some buttons for me

I agree with some of these comments. By 1984 I thought we were more familiar with AIDS...maybe 82 is the year this should be set. My main gripe was the unconvincing make up Manu wears, and the way he doesn't lose weight. What was so shocking and devastating for those of us growing up with the onset of AIDS was running into people who were gorgeous, fit young and beautiful. Next time you saw them their faces were blemished, their bodies wasted, emaciated, skeletal like. I recall bareley recognising a young lad who'd once been a fixture on the scene. So the scenes where Manu is nursed through the terminal stages were less than convincing and left me somewhat unmoved. Otherwise its worth seeing and its sex positive, uplifting, life affirming attitude is a welcome riposte to Hollywoods schlocky treatment of the subject.