UNCOMPLETED SONG / Comment c’est loin

 

North American Premiere • Comedy/Drama/Musical • France, 2015

DCP • 2.35 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 90 min

Directed by: Orelsan, Christophe Offenstein

Written by: Stéphanie Murat, Christophe Offenstein, Orelsan

Cinematography: Christophe Offenstein

Film Editing: Jeanne Kef

Original Score: Skread, in collaboration with Orelsan and Alexis Rault

Produced by: Maxime Delauney, Romain Rousseau (Nolita Cinema)

Cast: Orelsan (Orel), Gringe (Gringe), Seydou Doucouré (Bouteille), Claude Urbiztondo Llarch (Claude) 

International Sales: Other Angle Pictures

If procrastination were a science, wannabe rapper duo Orel and Gringe would be shortlisted for a Nobel Prize. With their 30th birthdays descending upon them like a trainload of old, the boys need to rustle some hustle on the career front. Trouble is, in the five years since producer Skread began funding their studio time, these idols of idleness haven’t managed to record a single song. Battling a host of personal demons, including fear of failure, denial, and a work ethic that defines dodging your pesky girlfriend as a full-time job, these princes of the preoccupied spend their days trying to squeeze what drops of creative inspiration they can from the banality of their own existence. Fed up with the excuses, Skread brings the hammer down; complete a song in the next 24 hours, or this circus gets its plug pulled. Set in the somnambulant gloom of Caen in Normandy, this hip-hop dramedy is based in part on the lives of rising rap stars Orelsan and Gringe.

Rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and now film director Orelsan, born Aurélien Cotentin, has been compared to Eminem, both for his clever rhymes and his jokester persona. Like the character he plays, Orelson grew up in Normandy, but unlike his character, Orelson earned a degree in business management before moving on to more creative endeavors. His work has stirred up controversy in the past, especially his track “Dirty Slut”that had some sponsors pulling out of shows. He teamed up with Gringe in 2004 under the name Casseurs Flowters, a play on the translation “Wet Bandits”, which is, depending on whom you ask, a reference either to Home Alone, or to something that should be googled only when you’re home and alone. Writer/co-director Christophe Offenstein, for whom this is also a debut directing effort, is an established cinematographer known for Tell No One (2006), and Blood Ties (2013). Offenstein’s extensive experience tempered Orelson’s frenetic energy and brought veracity to his performance. Co-writer Stéphanie Murat is best known for her acting work, but she has also written and directed features, most recently Max (2013) and Victoire (COLCOA 2005) .

 

QUOTES:

“…there’s no denying the wry lyrical powers on display here.”

– Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter