Julia (2008)

Director:

Erick Zonca

Writers:

Roger Bohbot (adaptation)
Michael Collins (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

12 March 2008 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A woman tries to extort money, using a young boy as bait.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Desperation | Run Over By A Car | Mexico | Tijuana Mexico

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Tilda Swinton	...	Julia
Saul Rubinek	...	Mitch
Kate del Castillo	...	Elena
Aidan Gould	...	Tom
Jude Ciccolella	...	Nick
Bruno Bichir	...	Diego
Horacio Garcia Rojas	...	Santos
Mauricio Moreno	...	José
Gastón Manuel Peterson	...	Miguel (as Gastón Peterson)
Kevin Kilner	...	Johnny
John Bellucci	...	Phillip
Ezra Buzzington	...	George
Roger Cudney	...	Frank
Eugene Byrd	...	Leon
Sandro Kopp	...	Marcus
M.J. Karmi	...	AA Woman (as MJ Karmi)
Carl Dillard	...	Henry AA (as Carl Dudley Dillard)
Ken Davitian	...	Taxi Driver
Hiep Thi Le	...	Kitty
Jim Leske	...	Motel Clerk
Muriel Ricard	...	Journalist
Tania Verafield	...	Cleaning Lady
Atzinga	...	Carmen
Nadiedka	...	Carena
Mariana Elías	...	Raphaella
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Amico	...	Detective (uncredited)
Sally Berman	...	Woman by Car (uncredited)
Joe Cucuiat	...	Undercover Agent #2 (uncredited)
Dave Gist	...	Fat Train Station Guy (uncredited)
Priscilla Leona Horne	...	Woman In Station (uncredited)
Jake Koenig	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Camille Natta	...	Karen (uncredited)
Neko Parham	...	Ejay (uncredited)
Tom Poole	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ian Ray	...	Undercover Agent #1 (uncredited)
Marshal Silverman	...	Commuter (uncredited)
Ursula Tania	...	Cooker (uncredited)

Directed by
Erick Zonca

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Roger Bohbot		adaptation
Michael Collins		adaptation
Aude Py		written by
Erick Zonca		written by

Produced by
Allen Bain	....	co-producer: 7th Floor
Jeremy Burdek	....	executive producer: Motion Investment Group
Bertrand Faivre	....	producer
Cathy Gesualdo	....	line producer: Los Angeles
Nadia Khamlichi	....	executive producer: Motion Investment Group
Jacqueline Louis	....	line producer: Saga Film
François Marquis	....	producer
Jean-Jacques Neira	....	co-producer: Saga Film
Adrian Politowski	....	executive producer: Motion Investment Group
Jesse Scolaro	....	co-producer: 7th Floor
Sandra Solares	....	co-producer: Jaibol Films
Hubert Toint	....	co-producer: Saga Film

Cinematography by
Yorick Le Saux		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Philippe Kotlarski

Casting by
Heidi Levitt
Manuel Teil

Production Design by
François-Renaud Labarthe

Art Direction by
Carlos Y. Jaques		(as Carlos Jacques)

Set Decoration by
Luis Figueroa

Costume Design by
April Napier

Makeup Department
Tamami Ito	....	key hair stylist
Sandra Miguell	....	key makeup artist (as Sandra Miguelli)
Mariana Miranda	....	makeup assistant
Roz Music	....	makeup artist: Los Angeles

Production Management
Horacio Rodríguez	....	unit manager
Juan Uruchurtu	....	production manager
Linda Warrilow	....	production supervisor: Los Angeles

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephanie Beauchef	....	second second assistant director
Álvaro Curiel	....	first assistant director
Juliana Fanjul	....	second assistant director
Jeff Fuller	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles (as Jeff 'Bones' Fuller)
Wendy Geary	....	second second assistant director: Los Angeles
Shelly Heyward	....	second assistant director: Los Angeles
Camille Natta	....	collaborating director
Jorge Eduardo Ramírez	....	first assistant director: additional shoot Tijuana (uncredited)

Art Department
Michael Keith Aleshire	....	set dresser: Los Angeles (as Keith Aleshire)
Daniel Alvarado	....	carpenter (as Daniel Alvárado)
Victor Bernal	....	carpenter
Martín Bolaños	....	property master assistant (as Martin Bolanos)
Jorge Borja	....	set decoration assistant
Tom Bry	....	on-set dresser: Los Angeles
Octavio Caballero	....	swing
Mario Camacho	....	painter
Arnulfo Castillo	....	carpenter
Ricardo Chavez	....	head carpenter (as Ricardo Chávez)
Gabriel Cortés	....	construction coordinator
Gilberto Cortes	....	property master (as Gilberto Cortés)
Javier Cortes	....	buyer (as Javier Cortés)
Samuel Daza	....	construction coordinator
Roger Dertinger	....	property master: Los Angeles
Oswaldo Diaz	....	blacksmith
Luis Escobar	....	carpenter (as Luís Escobar)
Marco A. Esquivel	....	carpenter
Adalberto Flores	....	swing
Bernado Flores	....	swing
Aarón García	....	painter
Adán García	....	lead painter (as Adan Garcia)
Héctor Velazco Guzmán	....	painter (as Héctor Velasco)
Ricardo Holguin	....	swing
Sandra Jalife	....	trainee
Naolín Jiménez	....	assistant set dresser (as Naolin Jiménez)
Ignacio Jiménez Trejo	....	carpenter (as Ignacio Jiménez)
Paul Kurdys	....	props assistant: Los Angeles
Carlos Lagunas	....	art coordinator
Jorge Lechuga	....	painter
Hector Lemus	....	swing
Guy Lionel	....	head painter (as Lionel Guy)
Heráclito Lopez	....	graphic designer
Eduardo Madrigal	....	swing
Raúl Mena	....	painter
Francisco Mercado Urbina	....	carpenter (as Francisco Mercado)
Brian Nabours	....	set dresser: Los Angeles
Dorit Oberman	....	set decorator: Los Angeles
Dennis Ogle	....	lead man: Los Angeles
Abel Ortiz	....	blacksmith
Emiliano Paredes	....	painter
Gabriel Pérez	....	construction swing
Claudio Ramírez	....	set dresser assistant
Pedro Ramírez	....	carpenter
Daniela Rojas	....	set dresser assistant
Gustavo Rosas	....	swing
Renato Salcedo	....	carpenter
José Juan Sánchez	....	painter
Daniel Suarez	....	swing
Daniel Tello	....	swing
Julieta Torres	....	painter
Alonso Velasco Guzman	....	painter (as Alonso Velasco)
Mauricio Waldo	....	on-set dresser
Erik Schindler	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Etienne Carton	....	sound mix recordist
Philippe Charbonnel	....	sound mix recordist
Damien Deville	....	optical sound transfer
Andrés Franco	....	sync sound editor (as Andres Franco)
Jean-Stephane Garbe	....	post-synchronization recordist
Thomas Gauder	....	sound mixer
Aline Gavroy	....	post-synchronization mixer
Gert Janssen	....	sound editor
Caroline Landsweerdt	....	sound edit assistant
Valérie Le Docte	....	dialogue editor
Jo Masset	....	post-synchronization engineer: Backstage
Pauline Materne	....	foley recordist
Pierre Mertens	....	sound
Michel Monier	....	sound consultant: Dolby (as Michel Monnier)
Grégory Noël	....	boom operator (as Gregory Noel)
Ingrid Simon	....	sound edit assistant
Philippe van Leer	....	foley artist
Thomas Vanthuyne	....	sound edit assistant

Special Effects by
Alejandro Vázquez	....	special effects coordinator (as Alejandro Vazquez)

Stunts
Arminius Arzate	....	stunt coordinator
Gary Baxley	....	stunt consultant: Los Angeles

Camera and Electrical Department
Ramón Acosta	....	electrician
Pascual Alvarado Bravo	....	grip
Manuel Alvarado	....	lighting technician: Los Angeles
Robert Baird	....	second assistant camera: Los Angeles
Otto Emilio Betancourt	....	key grip: Los Angeles (as Otto Betancourt)
Malcolm Bryce	....	gaffer: Los Angeles
Aaron Burden	....	dolly grip: Los Angeles (as AJ Burden)
Jeff Clark	....	best boy electric: Los Angeles
Alan Kelvin Contreras	....	first assistant camera (as Alan Kelvin)
Emmanuel de Fleury	....	first assistant camera
Carlos García Flores	....	electrician (as Carlos Garcia Flores)
Martin Garcia Medina	....	key electrician
Ulices Garcia Medina	....	key grip
Mark Goebel	....	grip: Los Angeles
Fernando Gutierrez	....	loader
Héctor 'Mac' Hernádez	....	grip
Pedro Hernández Gonzalez	....	dolly grip
Leonardo Julián	....	gaffer (as Leonardo Julian)
Hal Lewis	....	video assist operator: Los Angeles
Norma Martinez	....	video assist operator
Ty Mitchell	....	loader: Los Angeles
Richard Moriarty	....	first assistant camera: Los Angeles
Camille Natta	....	still photographer
José Peña Vilches	....	electrician (as Jose Peña Vilchis)
Karen Roseme	....	lighting technician: Los Angeles
Allen Wagoner	....	video assist operator: Los Angeles (as Allen Waggoner)
Keith Whitaeker	....	best boy: Los Angeles

Casting Department
Lauren Fernandes	....	casting associate: Los Angeles
Barbarella Pardo	....	casting: Tijuana (as Barbarela Pardo)
Jessica Valencia	....	assistant casting
Arturo Zárate	....	extras casting
Rich King	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Mac Marshall	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
María del Carmen Delvin	....	set costumer (as Carmen Delfín)
Azalia Joylee	....	assistant costume designer
Iván Juárez García	....	wardrobe coordinator
Glenn Gregory Krah	....	on-set costumer: Los Angeles (as Glenn Krah)
Guadalupe Narváez	....	wardrobe assistant
Ana Nuñez	....	assistant costume designer
Andrew Salazar	....	costume supervisor: Los Angeles

Editorial Department
Basile Belkhiri	....	assistant editor
Christophe Bousquet	....	color grader
Mike Joris	....	video colorist
Lyssia Le Gall	....	extra assistant editor
Hervé Vanderheyden	....	video colorist (as Herve Vanderheyden)

Music Department
Elise Luguern	....	music clearances

Transportation Department
Eugenio Alanis	....	driver
Efraín Alfaro	....	driver (as Efrain Alfaro Ramirez)
Daniel Cruz	....	driver
Juan Espinoza	....	driver
D'Aldo Fazzone	....	transportation captain: Los Angeles
Adrian Flores	....	transportation captain (as Adrián 'Chachita' Flores)
Ignacio Flores	....	driver
Ulises Flores	....	driver
Felipe Garcia Naranjo	....	picture car coordinator: Tijuana (as Felipe García Naranjo)
Jaime Gonzalez	....	driver
Antonio Hernandez	....	driver
Francisco Hernandez	....	driver
Arturo Jimenez	....	driver
Eduardo Jurado	....	driver
Billy Kane	....	transportation coordinator: Los Angeles (as Bill Kane)
Jorge Martinez	....	driver
José Montes de Oca	....	driver (as Jose Montes de Oca)
César Moreno	....	driver (as Cesar Moreno)
Daniel Navarro	....	driver
Jaime Olalde	....	driver
Carlos Ponce de León	....	picture car coordinator
Juan Antonio Rangel	....	driver
Ricardo Renteria	....	driver
Luis Rodrigo Rodriguez	....	driver
Carlos Romero	....	picture car coordinator
Jorge Ruben Sanchez	....	driver
Gustavo Sepúlveda	....	driver (as Gistavo Sepulveda)
Miguel Velázquez	....	driver (as Miguel Velazquez)
George A. Miki	....	transportation captain (uncredited)
Eddie Santana	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Billy Acquaviva Jr.	....	assistant production coordinator: Los Angeles
George Adams	....	additional office production assistant: Los Angeles
Ana Ballesteros	....	catering supervisor
Jose Manuel Ballesteros	....	craft service supervisor
Lorri Bearbower	....	studio teacher: Los Angeles, On Location Education
Gilles Bissot	....	title designer: Filmik
Eduardo Blanco	....	production assistant
Matthew Boeka	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles (as Matt Boeka)
Christele Boucher	....	assistant accountant (as Christel Boucher)
Roberto Brondo	....	anda delegate
Miguel Cadena	....	location assistant
Adam Callan	....	executive: 7th Floor, Los Angeles
Taylor Calley	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Nicolás Celis	....	production assistant (as Nicolas Celis)
Diana Cignoni	....	stand-in: Julia, Los Angeles
Nate Cohen	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles
Richard Davis	....	location manager: Los Angeles
Ivan Diaz-Robledo	....	location manager: Tijuana (as Iván Diaz Robledo)
Flor Esqueda	....	location assistant
Brenda Fernández	....	production assistant (as Brenda Fernandez)
Heather Fielding	....	studio teacher: Los Angeles, On Location Education
Vincent Gadelle	....	business affairs
Andrea Gamboa	....	assistant production office coordinator
Ruben Garay	....	location assistant
Omar Garcia Guzman	....	location assistant (as Omar Garcia)
Boris Garza	....	location assistant
Carolyn Golden	....	key set production assistant: Los Angeles (as Pacarolyn Golden)
Sophie Goldman	....	production coordinator: Bagheera
Lili Gonzalez	....	production coordinator
Norka Guerrero	....	animal trainer
Miguel Gutierrez	....	assistant location manager: Los Angeles
Gabriela Herrera	....	script supervisor
Hector Ibarra	....	location coordinator
Joe Koller	....	helicopter pilot
Sandro Kopp	....	assistant: Miss Swinton
Hugo Maldonado	....	cook: Los Angeles
Isabel Martinez	....	production accountant
Victor Martinez	....	craft service
Marcos Mora	....	craft service: Los Angeles
Tamra Natisin	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Valentina Novati	....	production coordinator: Bagheera
Omar Pérez	....	location assistant
Mario Prian	....	security
William F. Reed	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles
Evangelina Resendiz Montalvo	....	on-set medic (as Evangelina Reséndiz)
Philippe 'Carlos' Rodriguez	....	chef: Los Angeles
Rémi Roy	....	production chief accountant (as Remi Roy)
Sarah Rubenstein	....	accountant: Los Angeles
Luis Ruiz	....	location manager
Iwona Sellers	....	production coordinator
Jesus Solis	....	production accountant assistant
Juliette Sol	....	production assistant: Le Bureau
Michele Tedlis	....	script supervisor: Los Angeles
Daniel Villarreal	....	additional office production assistant: Los Angeles
Gilles Waterkeyn	....	production coordinator
Brandon Woods	....	set medic: Los Angeles
Haydee Zarate	....	extras assistant (as Haydeé Zarate)
Jerome Zelle	....	craft service: Los Angeles
Tony Arnoux	....	press attache (uncredited)
Eric A. Knapp	....	office intern (uncredited)
Jorge Eduardo Ramírez	....	key production assistant (uncredited)
André-Paul Ricci	....	press attache (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Les Productions Bagheera
• Le Bureau
• 7th Floor, The
• France 3 Cinéma (co-production)
• Jaibol Films
• Motion Investment Group
• Studio Canal (co-production)

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Chelsea Films (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2008) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Studio Canal (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Twin Pics (200?) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Bravo Motion Picture Security  security: Los Angeles
• Cast & Crew Catering  catering: Los Angeles (as Cast and Crew Catering)
• Cineservice Inc.  editing sound studio
• Cofiloisirs  financial services
• Hugot & Associés  legal services
• Neuflize  financial services
• On Location Education  studio teachers: Los Angeles
• Rich King Casting  extras casting: Los Angeles
• Rubini & Associés  production insurance
• Studio l'Équipe  sound equipment

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, some violent content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

France | USA | Mexico | Belgium

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:16 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 | France:U (with warning) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Laguna Salada, Mexicali, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Company:

Les Productions Bagheera

Trivia:

On the cover of the DVD, Tilda Swinton is incorrectly referred to as Tilda Swanton.

Quotes:

Julia: And it's time *my* luck changed. And it's time something went right for *me*!

Soundtrack:

Train Station

If you missed this one at the cinemas, you'll be cursing yourself - much worse than Julia Harris

INTRO:

One weekend, some weeks back I went to the movies with friends intending to watch 'Into the Wild'. But as things go in groups, somebody had already seen it and before I knew it plans were laid to watch a film about a girl who got gets pregnant – I protested (I hadn't even read the review on IMDb!!!) but I ended up watching it anyway – the result being 'Juno' just blew me away.. the story, the acting, the dialogs and of course – the soundtrack!

Once again I was to go to the cinemas… this time I had no real choices - the other options were Jumper, 10000BC and Julia (I'd seen the other good flicks already). I knew from 'trusted sources' that Jumper sucked and 10000 BC didn't really meet our high standards ;) So it came down to Julia - I didn't know what to expect of this film.. THERE WAS NO REVIEW ON IMDb!!! BUT I got brave - maybe I'd learned a lesson after having ventured into the unknown with Juno – or maybe it was the 50% discount at the movies this weekend.. I watched Julia!

The FILM:

When I came out of the cinema I swore to myself that this would be my first movie review on IMDb – not so much for the sake of writing a review but for the fact that I'd hate to let a good film go un-noticed! And Julia is a good film, it's a very good film – for it kept me glued to the screen once I got 'into' the film – which happened about 20 minutes into the movie..

Tilda Swinton played an award-winner of a role as the ever-cursing Julia Harris, who makes it a habit of waking up, unaware of where she's been sleeping. You know, the ease with which she plays an alcoholic totally convinced me that she did drink all that vodka during the making of the film. And unlike her other films, the camera does not show her in that special way that highlights her lovely eyes supported by those high, rounded cheekbones. But you will still fall in love with her – and you will also cut down on the alcohol and cigarettes and give up any ideas of easy ransom-money.

From the kidnapper to the kid-napped Tom – played by the talented Aidan Gould starts off as a kid who is made to nap all the time, more to make it easy for Julia to manage him than to keep him from escaping. But after he has been shoved around a bit, Julia starts to learn how to handle the kid and keeps him awake a lot more, and you start to see some interaction between the two.

Julia treats Tom as a mature individual and their conversations show that the kid does have some mature ideas in his head, probably only put there by his millionaire grandfather who is also his sole guardian - but he is quite smart for his age. He also starts to display a range of emotions, more than just fear or anger. You have to see the film to realize how delicate these are. My favorite though, was the look on his face when he wakes up next to a girl one morning – I wont tell you where or with whom or how, as that would be a 'spoiler' …literally!

Well, these are the two main characters that really 'make' this film and around them you will find others playing short but not insignificant roles. I could go on to give you my observations of the characters and my guesses on their lifestyles and make psycho-social analyses. But those are the kind of reviews which restricted my imagination as I watched other films – they didn't help me so I figure it won't be good for you either my fellow movie-lover-speculator…

To sum up, the film has a simple plot that unfolds with time, there aren't any super special effects, no fancy camera-work and despite all that, it still appeals to me – like many other simple films have. Normally I'd vote for a 7 on 10 for it being so smooth, but I left the cinema thinking about other probable outcomes, as I wasn't too happy about the way it ended… It was certainly possible, but I still wished it hadn't happened – but then I wonder how else would I have made the end to this film?? For having created this conflict in me, I'd like to give this film an 8 on 10.

And for the doubtful ones out there, reading this review to make up your minds – I dedicate this, my first IMDb review to you – go for it, you won't regret it!