NOT HERE TO BE LOVED / Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé

 

Special presentation • Drama • France, 2006

DCP • 1.85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 93 min

Directed by: Stéphane Brizé

Written by: Stéphane Brizé, Juliette Sales 

Cinematography: Claude Garnier

Film Editing: Anne Klotz

Original Score: Eduardo Makaroff

Produced by: Milena Poylo, Gilles Sacuto (TS Productions)

Cast: Anne Consigny (Françoise "Fanfan" Rubion), Patrick Chesnais (Jean-Claude Delsart), Georges Wilson (Mr. Delsart), Lionel Abelanski (Thierry)

International Sales: Doc & Film International

 

As part of our focus on filmmaker Stéphane Brizé, COLCOA is pleased to reprise his deft romantic drama, Not Here To Be Loved, presented at the festival as a U.S. Premiere in 2006.  This deceptively simple story centers on Jean-Claude, a weary, middle-aged divorcee whose life isn’t exactly going anywhere. Circling the drain is more like it. As a court bailiff, his daily routine brings misery to others in the form of eviction notices and property seizures. His only outlet is the weekly rest home visit to his craggy, belligerent, ungrateful father, who had Jean-Claude’s thankless job before him. To top it all off, Jean-Claude’s doctor informs him that his health is failing. Looking for an exercise regimen, Jean-Claude signs up for tango lessons, where he meets the too young, too pretty, and too betrothed Françoise. Despite the obstacles, a romance blossoms, and the connection soon has them both re-thinking life’s possibilities. Georges Wilson (father of Lambert Wilson) brilliantly channels rage and fear at the ravages of old age as Jean-Claude’s father, while Patrick Chesnais and Anne Cosigny bring a heartrending chemistry to the screen. César nominations went out for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

 

Not Here To Be Loved was only the second feature of writer/director Stéphane Brizé, but already he was displaying qualities that would come to be associated with all of his work: authenticity and sensitivity coupled with light humor and strong poetic moments. Brizé’s emotionally stifled characters, like his protagonist Jean-Claude, elicit comparisons to filmmakers like Ken Loach and Bergman. While the framework of the story is rather familiar and straightforward, Brizé and his co-writer Juliette Sales focus our attention on the details that can lend performances a more layered meaning. Brizé’s first feature, Le Bleu des villes (1999), was a box office success; nevertheless, it was six years before his next film. From there, his output has been more regular, including his Claude Lelouch produced Entre Adultes (2006), his delicate tale of unexpected romance, Mademoiselle Chambon (COLCOA 2009), A Few Hours of Spring (COLCOA 2013), and Measure of a Man (2015). In conjunction with this screening, COLCOA will present the North American Premiere of Brizé’s latest film, A Woman’s Life (2016).