Hippocrates, DIARY OF A FRENCH DOCTOR / Hippocrate
Los Angeles Premiere • Dramatic Comedy • France, 2014
DCP • 2.35 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 102 min
Directed by: Thomas Lilti
Written by: Baya Kasmi, Thomas Lilti, Pierre Chosson, Julien Lilti
Cinematography: Nicolas Gaurin
Film Editing: Christel Dewynter
Original Score: Alexandre Lier, Sylvain Ohrel, Nicolas Weil
Produced by: Agnes Vallee, Emmanuel Barraux (31 Juin Films), France 2 Cinéma
Cast: Vincent Lacoste (Benjamin), Reda Kateb (Abdel), Jacques Gamblin (Professeur Barois), Marianne Denicourt (Denormandy), Felix Moati (Stéphane)
International Sales: Le Pacte
US Distributor: Distrib Films • distribfilms.com
In this sobering, darkly comedic exposé of the French public medical system, Jacky In The Kingdom Of Women (COLCOA 2014) star Vincent Lacoste plays Benjamin, a cocksure medical intern learning to cope with grueling 48-hour shifts, mollifying terminal and elderly patients, crippling budget cuts and supply shortages, all the while carousing like a frat-house party hound. It’s soon apparent that upholding his Hippocratic oath is going to be a tough task. When he loses a patient through negligence, the hospital staff closes ranks to avoid liability. Abdel, an experienced Algerian physician obliged to complete an internship because of his immigrant status, is the only one whose conscience is bothered by all of this, and his concern for the patients sets him on a collision course with hospital authorities. Reda Kateb’s performance as Abdel was rewarded with a 2015 Best Supporting Actor César. He is known for his terrific turns in Zero Dark Thirty and The Prophet, and can be seen in Ryan Gosling’s upcoming directorial debut Lost River.
As a practicing physician, writer/director Thomas Lilti is that rare filmmaker who can bring life experience of a second métier to his work. Indeed, the Benjamin character is modeled on his own professional initiation, and many scenes were shot in the hospital where Lilti has practiced. Lilti directed several shorts while attending medical school. He completed his first feature, Les yeux bandés, starring Guillaume Depardieu in 2007. He recently co-wrote Pirate TV (2012) with Michel Leclerc. Hippocrates co-written by Thomas Lilti, Pierre Chosson, Baya Kasmi and Julien Lilti, raked in seven 2015 César nominations, including Best Director and Best Film.
Quotes:
“He (Reda Kateb) is brilliant as the unassuming, compassionate Rezzak.”
- Judith Prescott FRENCH CINEMA REVIEW
"The film works best in its depiction of life in the bowels of the hospital, which the public never visits.”
- Charles Gant VARIETY
