A Secret | |
---|---|
Directed by | Claude Miller |
Written by | Claude Miller |
Based on | Un secret by Philippe Grimbert |
Produced by | Yves Marmion |
Starring | Cécile De France Patrick Bruel Ludivine Sagnier Julie Depardieu |
Cinematography | Gérard de Battista |
Edited by | Véronique Lange |
Music by | Zbigniew Preisner |
Distributed by | UGC Distribution |
Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Box office | $14.4 million |
A Secret (French : Un secret) is a 2007 French film directed and written by Claude Miller. The screenplay was based on the 2004 novel by Philippe Grimbert.
The film follows Maxime Nathan and his family in France during the years before and after World War II. François Grimbert (played as a young boy by Valentin Vigourt and as an adult by Mathieu Amalric) grows up in Paris in the 1950s. He is the skinny, sickly son of two marvelously athletic parents, Tania (Cécile de France) and Maxime (Patrick Bruel). For a while, he dreams of a stronger, fitter, more charismatic older brother to compensate for his own feelings of inadequacy. Only gradually does he learn of his parents' tragic past and that he had a sibling — a half-brother named Simon, his father's first son.
Simon is the big secret, but the discovery opens the door to further revelations and deeper enigmas. François knows that his parents met sometime around the war, and he imagines their courtship and marriage in the shadow of atrocities which nobody talks about any more. [1] [2] Eventually he learns that his family is Jewish. His parents were each married to someone else before the Holocaust, and his father had a son, Simon. His parents' first spouses and his half-brother Simon were arrested by the Nazis and gassed at Auschwitz. His parents have never fully recovered from the trauma and eventually they both commit suicide.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, A Secret has an approval rating of 80% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 7.00/10. The site's consensus reads: A "Secret is poignant, sad, and beautifully crafted, featuring fine performances that stave off a drift toward soap opera territory". [3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [4]
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac, known professionally as Catherine Deneuve, is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her as one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.
Ludivine Sagnier is a French actress. She was nominated three times for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for Swimming Pool (2003), 8 Women (2003), and A Secret (2007).
The César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to recognize the outstanding performance in a supporting role of an actress who has worked within the French film industry during the year preceding the ceremony. Nominees and winner are selected via a run-off voting by all the members of the Académie.
Patrick Benguigui, better known by his stage name Patrick Bruel, is a French singer-songwriter, actor and professional poker player.
Camille Claudel is a 1988 French biographical drama film about the life of 19th-century sculptor Camille Claudel. The film was based on the book by Reine-Marie Paris, granddaughter of Camille's brother, the poet and diplomat Paul Claudel. It was directed by Bruno Nuytten, co-produced by Isabelle Adjani, and starred her and Gérard Depardieu. The film had a total of 2,717,136 admissions in France. Adjani was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role, the second in her career.
Josiane Balasko is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice.
A Christmas Tale is a 2008 French Christmas comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Arnaud Desplechin, starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos and Chiara Mastroianni. It tells the story of a family with strained relationships which gathers at the parents' home for Christmas, having just learned that their mother has leukemia. It was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
When I Was a Singer is a 2006 French musical romantic drama film starring Gérard Depardieu and Cécile de France. It was written and directed by Xavier Giannoli.
The 8th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, honoured the best French films of 1982 and took place on 26 February 1983 at Le Grand Rex in Paris. The ceremony was chaired by Catherine Deneuve and hosted by Jean-Claude Brialy. La Balance won the award for Best Film.
Heartbeat Detector is a 2007 French film directed by Nicolas Klotz and starring Mathieu Amalric. The film is based on the 2000 novel by François Emmanuel.
Le Colonel Chabert is a 1994 French historical drama film directed by Yves Angelo and starring Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant and Fabrice Luchini. It is based on the novel Le Colonel Chabert by Honoré de Balzac. Another film adaptation of the novel starring Raimu had been released 50 years earlier, during the German occupation of France.
Tous les matins du monde is a 1991 French film based on the book of the same name by Pascal Quignard. Set during the reign of Louis XIV, the film shows the musician Marin Marais looking back on his young life when he was briefly a pupil of Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, and features much music of the period, especially that for the viola da gamba. The title of the film comes from words of the narrator in Quignard's novel.
Little Lili is a 2003 French drama film by French director Claude Miller. The film stars Ludivine Sagnier, Bernard Giraudeau, Nicole Garcia, Julie Depardieu and Jean-Pierre Marielle.
Malik Zidi is a French film, television and theatre actor. He is a César Award recipient for Most Promising Actor.
French California is a 2006 French film directed and written by Jacques Fieschi, based on short story by Georges Simenon. It was nominated for César Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Actor. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Mesrine is a two-part 2008 French biographical crime film on the life of French gangster Jacques Mesrine, directed by Jean-François Richet and written by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Richet. The first part, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, was based on Mesrine's autobiographical book L'instinct de mort, while the second part, Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One, detailed Mesrine's criminal career. The film has earned comparisons to the American film Scarface, and Vincent Cassel earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Mesrine.
Lou! Journal infime is a 2014 French comedy film directed by Julien Neel, based on the first volume of his comic book series, Lou!. The screenplay was written by Julien Neel and Marc Syrigas. It stars Lola Lasseron, Ludivine Sagnier, Kyan Khojandi, and Nathalie Baye.
The 3rd Globes de Cristal Award ceremony honoured the best French movies, actors, actresses, plays, concerts, novels, singers, TV series, exhibitions and fashion designers of 2006 and took place on 11 February 2008. The ceremony was chaired by Bernard-Henri Lévy.