COURTED / L’Hermine

 

West Coast Premiere • Drama • France, 2015

DCP • 2.35 • Dolby • Color • 98 min

Directed by: Christian Vincent

Written by: Christian Vincent

Cinematography: Laurent Dailland

Film Editing: Yves Deschamps

Original Score: Claire Denamur

Produced by: Matthieu Tarot (Albertine Productions)

Cast: Fabrice Luchini (Michel Racine), Sidse Babett Knudsen (Ditte Lorensen-Coteret), Eva Lallier (Ann Lorensen-Coteret), Corinne Masiero (Marie-Jeanne Metzer), Sophie-Marie Larrouy (Coralie Marciano) 

International Sales: Gaumont • gaumont.fr

 

Best Actor prize at the 2015 Venice International Film Festival went to Fabrice Luchini for his portrayal of Michel Racine, a cranky, straight-laced judge presiding over a sobering murder case, while dealing with a divorce on the home front, and a pesky flu. As demanding as all of that is, Michel’s world skids to a halt when a randomly chosen juror turns out to be someone from his past. Ditte, played by Borgen star Sidse Babett Knudsen, is a caring single mother who made an indelible impression on Michel six years earlier. Michel, whose reputation for severity has earned him a nickname reflecting the double-digit sentences he likes to hand down, tosses his beloved protocol aside for a series of assignations to explore their mutual attraction. While nodding to courtroom drama and rom-com, Courted conscientiously dodges the clichés of both genres.

Known for his skill with intimate drama, such as the Isabelle Huppert and Daniel Auteuil starrer, La separation (1994), and for studied social critiques like Save Me (2000), writer/director Christian Vincent is equally adept with comedy, as he demonstrated with his Ernst Lubitsch-styled hit Quatres étoiles (2006). Stateside, many will know him from his previous hit, Haute Cuisine (COLCOA 2013). Vincent first gained attention with his feature La Discrète (1991).  Adding to the acclaim the film received from the César Awards, including Best Debut Feature, was a Best Actor nomination for the film’s lead, Fabrice Luchini.  Early on, Vincent was compared to filmmaking legend Eric Rohmer with his explorations of the incivility lurking in the nuances of so-called civil society. But it is foremost to Jean Renoir’s Rules Of The Game that Vincent claims creative lineage. In addition to the Best Actor prize, the 2015 Venice International Film Festival awarded Vincent a Best Screenplay honor.

 

QUOTES:

“…brings together two worlds with finesse and sensitivity, offering enough depth to make the story passionate and moving.”

– Geoffrey Crété, CineMan

“…honed to melancholic comic perfection.”

– Guy Lodge, Variety