Alice and the Mayor(French:Alice et le Maire) is a 2019 Frenchdrama filmdirected byNicolas Pariser.It was screened in theDirectors' Fortnightsection at the2019 Cannes Film Festival,[3][4]where it won the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film.[5]
| Alice and the Mayor | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| French | Alice et le Maire |
| Directed by | Nicolas Pariser |
| Written by | Nicolas Pariser |
| Starring | Anaïs Demoustier Antoine Reinartz Fabrice Luchini Léonie Simaga Nora Hamzawi |
| Cinematography | Sébastien Buchmann |
| Edited by | Christel Dewynter |
| Music by | Benjamin Esdraffo |
Production company | Bizibi |
| Distributed by | BAC Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $5.3 million[1] |
| Box office | $6.2 million[2] |
Plot
editAlice, a reserved single woman, gives up teaching in England to work in the city hall of Lyon, France's third city. Her job is to feed ideas to the mayor, Paul Théraneau, a divorced man who does not have enough time to read and think. He appreciates her help and soon promotes her, which provokes jealousy in the rest of the office. She is put on a team to plan the city of the future, but soon sees that it is a vanity project going nowhere. Discussions with Théraneau, a lifelong socialist who increasingly values her input, bring home to her to that intellectuals may discuss but politicians must deliver.
She looks up a former lover, Gauthier, but he is preoccupied with his eccentric wife. At a meeting, Alice is impressed by an entrepreneur who has revived a hand-printing business, the last in Lyon, and goes back to his apartment one evening but, after making love, he violently criticises her way of life. Deeply shaken, she goes to bed in her apartment alone and rings Gauthier, who comes round and tries to reassure her, revealing that his wife is in and out of psychiatric care. While Gauthier is there, Alice's phone rings. It is the mayor in his car outside, who has had a tense dinner with his ex-wife and wants somebody to comfort him. Alice manages to offer sympathy without inviting him upstairs.
Théraneau decides to campaign for the socialist nomination in the upcoming elections for the presidency of the republic and makes Alice his speechwriter. At the socialist congress, he has doubts over his chances and does not leave his hotel to deliver his stirring address. Three years later, Alice revisits Lyon from her job in England and meets up with Théraneau, who has retired from public duties. The two still enjoy each other's company but their lives, once close, are now far apart. He has plenty of time to read and think, while she has a baby to rear.
Cast
edit- Fabrice Luchinias Paul Théraneau
- Anaïs Demoustieras Alice Heimann
- Nora Hamzawias Mélinda
- Léonie Simagaas Isabelle Leinsdorf
- Antoine Reinartzas Daniel
- Maud Wyleras Delphine Bénard
- Alexandre Steigeras Gauthier
- Pascal Rénéricas Xavier
References
edit- ^https://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=19408
- ^https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8903840/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
- ^Keslassy, Elsa (4 April 2019)."Cannes:DeerskinWith Jean Dujardin to Open Directors' Fortnight ".Variety.Retrieved19 April2019.
- ^Goodfellow, Melanie."Cannes Directors' Fortnight unveils genre-heavy 2019 selection".ScreenDaily.Retrieved23 April2019.
- ^Hopewell, John (23 May 2019)."'Alice and the Mayor' Wins Cannes Directors' Fortnight Biggest Prize ".Variety.Retrieved23 May2019.