ONE OF A KIND /
Mon âme par toi guérie

 

Los Angeles Premiere • Drama • France, 2013

DCP • 2.35 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 123 min

 

Directed by: François Dupeyron

Written by: François Dupeyron

Cinematography: Yves Angelo

Film Editing: Dominique Faysse

Original Score: Vanupie

Additional Score: Nina Hagen

Produced by: Paulo Branco (Alfama Films Production)

Cast: Grégory Gadebois (Frédi), Céline Sallette (Nina), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Le père), Marie Payen (Josiane), Philippe Rebbot (Nanar)

International Sales: Kinology

 

In this wrenching, soulful story, Frédi is a middle-aged regular Joe, except that he has the miraculous power to heal people by his touch. He has always rejected his abilities, uncertain if he has been given a sacred gift or a life sentence. But when circumstances give him no choice, the news of this working-class miracle worker soon brings crowds flocking to his meager mobile home. None of this has much healing effect on Frédi himself. It does not cure his own anxiety, his epileptic bouts, his nightmares and self-doubts, nor does it help him to deal with his problematic teenage daughter and his bitter father. But when he meets Nina, a woman awash in alcohol and with a black hole where her soul should be, he becomes convinced that helping her might finally clear out enough space in his heart to love again. Grégory Gadebois was rewarded with a Best Actor César nomination for a committed, naturalistic performance that compliments the film’s gritty visuals.

 

Filmmakers who also write novels are rare. Even more rare is that filmmaker with enough tirelessness to adapt his or her own novels to film. Writer/director François Dupeyron is that rare bird. Roughly translated, the title of the novel on which One of a Kind is based, is “Every Man for Himself, God Couldn’t Care Less.” Early in his career, Dupeyron won two Césars for short films. Since his first feature, Strange Place for an Encounter (1988), co-written with Dominique Faysse, Dupeyron has made a reputation for thoughtful, probing dramas, often with a romantic emphasis. He is best know for the Golden Globe-nominated Monsieur Ibrahim (2003), starring the venerable Omar Sharif, and The Officer's Ward (2001), nominated for a Palme d’Or as well as several César awards.

 

 “Undeniably affecting.”

- Jay Weissberg VARIETY

 

“The gorgeous sunlight of the south of France that Angelo captures even manages to suggest that the working-class, almost white-trash milieu depicted can also occasionally be touched by grace.”

- Boyd van Hoeij HOLLYWOOD REPORTER