Esther Kahn

Last updated

Esther Kahn
Esther Kahn FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin
Written by
Produced by Alain Sarde
Starring
Narrated by Ramin Gray
Cinematography Eric Gautier
Edited by
Music by Howard Shore
Distributed by Why Not Productions
Release dates
Running time
142 minutes
CountriesFrance
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Esther Kahn is the first English-language film by the French director Arnaud Desplechin. It premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or, [1] but was not distributed to the United States for two years until it played in New York City in 2002. It stars Summer Phoenix as Esther and Ian Holm as her friend and teacher, Nathan Quellen.

Contents

Plot

Esther Kahn, a Jewish girl in 19th Century London, dreams of becoming a stage actress.

Cast

Production

Deplechin adapted the screenplay with regular collaborator Emmanuel Bourdieu from a short story by Arthur Symons of the same name from his book Spiritual Adventures. Summer Phoenix auditioned three times before she was offered the role of Esther. [2]

Reception

Initial reviews of the film were mixed. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 52%, based on 25 reviews. [3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 12 critics. [4]

Cahiers du cinéma named it the best film of 2000. [5] In 2010 it ranked 52nd on Film Comment's end of the decade critics poll. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnaud Desplechin</span> French film director and screenwriter

Arnaud Desplechin is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for My Golden Days (2015).

<i>The Sweet Hereafter</i> (film) 1997 film

The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian drama film written and directed by Atom Egoyan, adapted from the 1991 novel by Russell Banks. It tells the story of a school bus accident in a small town that kills 14 children. A class-action lawsuit ensues, proving divisive in the community and becoming tied with personal and family issues. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Maury Chaykin, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Gabrielle Rose, Arsinée Khanjian and Alberta Watson.

<i>24 City</i> 2008 Chinese film by Jia Zhangke

24 City is a 2008 Chinese film directed and co-written by Jia Zhangke. The film follows three generations of characters in Chengdu as a state-owned factory gives way to a modern apartment complex. The film was also known as The Story of 24 City during production.

<i>Go Go Tales</i> 2007 Italian film

Go Go Tales is an independent 2007 film by Abel Ferrara. Ferrara based the film on The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, directed by John Cassavetes. It stars Willem Dafoe as a strip club owner and co-stars Bob Hoskins, Asia Argento and Matthew Modine. Ferrara had the cast improvise much of their lines. He described the film as his "first intentional comedy".

<i>My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument</i> 1996 film

My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument is a 1996 French drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. It won the César Award for Most Promising Actor and was also nominated for Most Promising Actress. The film ensured Desplechin's and Amalric's career launches in the 90s as respected director and actor respectively. Historically it also marks one of Marion Cotillard's very first roles in the industry.

<i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</i> 2010 film

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a 2010 Thai drama film written, produced, and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film, which explores themes of reincarnation, centers on the last days in the life of its title character, who is played by Thanapat Saisaymar. Together with his loved ones—including the spirit of his dead wife, Huay, and his lost son, Boonsong, who has returned in a non-human form—Boonmee explores his past lives as he contemplates the reasons for his illness.

<i>Holy Motors</i> 2012 film by Leos Carax

Holy Motors is a 2012 surrealist fantasy drama film written and directed by Leos Carax and starring Denis Lavant and Édith Scob. Lavant plays Mr. Oscar, a man who appears to have a job as an actor, as he is seen dressing up in different costumes and performing various roles in several locations around Paris over the course of a day, though no cameras or audiences are ever seen around him. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian</i> 2013 French film

Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian is a 2013 French drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin.

<i>Stranger by the Lake</i> 2013 film by Alain Guiraudie

Stranger by the Lake is a 2013 French thriller and drama film written and directed by Alain Guiraudie. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where Guiraudie won the award for Best Director. The film also won the Queer Palm award, and was mentioned on multiple top-ten lists of the best films of 2014.

<i>Jealousy</i> (2013 film) Film by Philippe Garrel

Jealousy is a 2013 French drama film co-written and directed by Philippe Garrel, starring Louis Garrel and Anna Mouglalis. It was screened in the main competition section at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. It is the first installment in Garrel's trilogy of love, the second being In the Shadow of Women (2015) and the third being Lover for a Day (2017).

<i>Mia Madre</i> 2015 film

Mia madre is a 2015 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Nanni Moretti. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Journey to the Shore</i> 2015 film

Journey to the Shore is a 2015 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Tadanobu Asano and Eri Fukatsu. It is adapted from Kazumi Yumoto's novel Kishibe no Tabi. It screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where Kurosawa won the prize for Best Director. It was released in Japan on 1 October 2015.

<i>My Golden Days</i> 2015 French film

My Golden Days, also titled My Golden Years, is a 2015 French drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, and Mathieu Amalric. It is a prequel to the 1996 film My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument. It was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the SACD Prize.

<i>Hitchcock/Truffaut</i> (film) 2015 film

Hitchcock/Truffaut is a 2015 French-American documentary film directed by Kent Jones.

<i>The Image Book</i> 2017 collage film by Jean-Luc Godard

The Image Book is a 2018 Swiss avant-garde essay film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Initially titled Tentative de bleu and Image et parole, in December 2016 Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval stated that Godard had been shooting the film for almost two years "in various Arab countries, including Tunisia" and that it is an examination of the modern Arabic world. Godard told Séance magazine that he was shooting without actors but the film would have a storyteller. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. The film was positively received by film critics. It was the final film directed by Godard before his death in 2022.

<i>Lover for a Day</i> 2017 film by Philippe Garrel

Lover for a Day is a 2017 French drama film co-written and directed by Philippe Garrel, starring Éric Caravaca, Esther Garrel and Louise Chevillotte. It is the third and final installment in Garrel's trilogy of love, following Jealousy (2013) and In the Shadow of Women (2015). The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the SACD Award.

<i>Oh Mercy!</i> 2019 film

Oh Mercy! is a 2019 French crime drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. The film was inspired by the 2008 TV documentary Roubaix, commissariat central, directed by Mosco Boucault. It stars Roschdy Zem, Léa Seydoux, Sara Forestier, and Antoine Reinartz. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Deception</i> (2021 film) 2021 French film

Deception is a 2021 French drama film, directed by Arnaud Desplechin, from a screenplay by Desplechin and Julie Peyr. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Philip Roth. It stars Denis Podalydès, Léa Seydoux, Anouk Grinberg, Emmanuelle Devos, Rebecca Marder and Madalina Constantin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Léa Mysius</span> French film director and screenwriter

Léa Mysius is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2017, she made her feature directorial debut with the film Ava, which premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it won the SACD Award. Her second feature film, The Five Devils, was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. As a screenwriter, Mysius has also collaborated with Arnaud Desplechin on Ismael's Ghosts (2017) and Oh Mercy! (2019), Jacques Audiard on Paris, 13th District (2021) and Claire Denis on Stars at Noon (2022).

<i>Pacifiction</i> 2022 drama film

Pacifiction is a 2022 internationally co-produced drama thriller film written and directed by Albert Serra, and starring Benoît Magimel. The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. The film title is a portmanteau of the words Pacific and fiction.

References

  1. "Festival de Cannes: Esther Kahn". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
  2. Rubin, Lauren (23 February 2002). "SUDDENLY, IT'S SUMMER The youngest of the Phoenix acting clan makes her mark in 'Esther kahn'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  3. "Esther Kahn". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  4. "Metacritic Esther Kahn Reviews". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  5. Johnson, Eric C. "Cahiers du Cinema: Top Ten Lists 1951-2009". alumnus.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  6. "Film Comment's End-of-the-Decade Critics' Poll". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2 June 2022.