Macadam Stories

Last updated
Macadam Stories
Asphalte poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Samuel Benchetrit
Screenplay bySamuel Benchetrit
Gabor Rassov
Based onLes Chroniques de l'Asphalte (Volume I)
by Samuel Benchetrit
Produced byJulien Madon
Eric Pujol
Starring Isabelle Huppert
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Gustave Kervern
Michael Pitt
CinematographyPierre Aïm
Edited byThomas Fernandez
Music by Raphaël
Production
companies
La Camera Deluxe
Maje Productions
Single Man Productions
Distributed byParadis Films
Release dates
  • 17 May 2015 (2015-05-17)(Cannes)
  • 7 October 2015 (2015-10-07)(France)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageArabic
Box office$880.180 [1]

Macadam Stories (French : Asphalte) is a 2015 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Samuel Benchetrit, and based on the first volume of Benchetrit's autobiography Les Chroniques de l'Asphalte. The film was selected to be screened in the Special Screenings section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. [2]

Contents

Plot

The elevator in the apartment complex breaks down and residents have to pay for the repair, but the dull middle-aged Sternkowitz, who lives on the first floor, refuses to pay for the repair. In the end, Sternkowitz was exempt from paying on the condition that he didn't use the elevator, but shortly after, he was injured and confined to a wheelchair. Then, he secretly uses the elevator so that no one can see him, and goes out to buy food in the middle of the night in the vending machine of a hospital. However, when the night shift nurse finds him, he immediately lies and says: "I'm a photographer who is scouting locations". Attracted to her, he goes to see her at the hospital in a wheelchair every night at recess. As they approached, Sternkowitz offered to take her picture, to which she agreed. One night, he decides to go to the hospital, but the elevator breaks down and he's unable to get out of the hospital. Desperate, he managed to escape from the elevator and was dragged to the hospital. When their appointment has passed and the nurse finally comes home from her night shift, Sternkowitz honestly confesses that he's not a photographer.

Teenage boy Charly lives with his mother, who is often away from home and spends most of his time alone. One day, a middle-aged woman named Jeanne Meyer moves into the next room. She used to be an actress, but now she has no roles and she's totally depressed. She can't stand Charly, who is too stupid to live alone.

The return capsule carrying astronaut John Mackenzie crash-lands on the roof of the apartment complex due to a mistake. Wanting to cover up the emergency, NASA asks Madame Hamida, an Algerian immigrant woman living on the top floor of the complex, to protect him for two days until he can be picked up. She treated him like a son, feeding him couscous, and lent her son's room and clothes, while the latter is in jail. John doesn't understand French and Madame Hamida doesn't understand English, so sometimes they don't get along, but they get along like mother and son.

Cast

Accolades

Award / Film FestivalCategoryRecipients and nomineesResult
César Awards [3] Best Adaptation Samuel Benchetrit Nominated
Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario [4] Best AdaptationSamuel BenchetritNominated

Related Research Articles

<i>The Lost Weekend</i> 1945 film by Billy Wilder

The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American film directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also shared the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival, making it one of only three films—the other two being Marty (1955) and Parasite (2019)—to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at Cannes.

Twenty Two (<i>The Twilight Zone</i>) 17th episode of the 2nd season of The Twilight Zone

"Twenty Two" is episode 53 of the American television series The Twilight Zone. The story was adapted by Rod Serling from a short anecdote in the 1944 Bennett Cerf Random House anthology Famous Ghost Stories, which itself was an adaptation of "The Bus-Conductor", a short story by E. F. Benson published in The Pall Mall Magazine in 1906. It was one of the six episodes of the second season which were shot on videotape in a short-lived experiment aimed to cut costs, and was directed by Jack Smight.

<i>Nurse Betty</i> 2000 American black comedy film

Nurse Betty is a 2000 American black comedy film directed by Neil LaBute and starring Renée Zellweger as the title character, a small town, Kansas housewife-waitress who suffers a nervous breakdown after witnessing her husband's torture murder, and starts obsessively pursuing her favorite television soap opera character, while in a fugue state. Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock play the hitmen who killed her husband and subsequently pursue her to Los Angeles.

<i>The Soft Skin</i> 1964 French film

The Soft Skin is a 1964 French-Portuguese romantic drama film directed by François Truffaut and starring Jean Desailly, Françoise Dorléac, and Nelly Benedetti. Written by Truffaut and Jean-Louis Richard, it is about a married successful writer and lecturer who meets and has an affair with a beautiful flight attendant half his age. The film was shot on location in Paris, Reims, and Lisbon, and several scenes were filmed at Paris-Orly Airport. At the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for the Palme d'Or. Despite Truffaut's recent success with Jules and Jim and The 400 Blows, The Soft Skin did not do well at the box office.

<i>A Short Film About Love</i> 1988 Polish film

A Short Film About Love is a 1988 Polish romantic drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, starring Grażyna Szapołowska and Olaf Lubaszenko. Written by Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film is about a young post office worker deeply in love with a promiscuous older woman who lives in an adjacent apartment building. The film is set in Warsaw.

<i>Face to Face</i> (1976 film) 1976 film

Face to Face is a 1976 Swedish psychological drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It tells the story of a psychiatrist who is suffering from a mental illness. It stars Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson.

<i>Shivers</i> (1975 film) 1975 body horror film by David Cronenberg

Shivers, also known as The Parasite Murders and They Came from Within, and, for Canadian distribution in French, Frissons, is a 1975 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Paul Hampton, Lynn Lowry, and Barbara Steele.

<i>The Cranes Are Flying</i> 1957 film by Mikhail Kalatozov

The Cranes Are Flying is a 1957 Soviet film about the Second World War. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage done to the Soviet psyche as a result of war, which was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.

<i>The Dreamlife of Angels</i> 1998 French film

The Dreamlife of Angels is a 1998 French drama film directed by Erick Zonca. The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

<i>Eternity and a Day</i> 1998 film directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos

Eternity and a Day is a 1998 Greek drama film directed by Theo Angelopoulos, and starring Bruno Ganz, Isabelle Renauld and Fabrizio Bentivoglio.

<i>My Favorite Season</i> 1993 French film

My Favorite Season is a 1993 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, co-written by Téchiné and Pascal Bonitzer, and starring Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, and Marthe Villalonga. The story concerns a middle-aged brother and sister who resume their fragile relationship when they are forced to care for their ailing mother. It won Best Foreign Language Film at the 1996 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards.

<i>Love Songs</i> (2007 film) 2007 French film

Love Songs is a 2007 French musical film directed by Christophe Honoré, starring Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, Clotilde Hesme and Chiara Mastroianni. It was one of the 20 films selected for the main competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Import/Export</i> 2007 Austrian film

Import/Export is an Austrian drama film by the director Ulrich Seidl from 2007. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prix - Golden Apricot reward at the Yerevan International Film Festival. The film was shot in Vienna, Ukraine, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia from 2005 until May 2007 on 16mm film. Simultaneously, the film follows a nurse from Ukraine searching for a better life in the West and an unemployed security guard from Austria heading East for the same reason.

<i>On the Run</i> (2003 film) 2002 French film

On the Run also known as is a 2003 film directed by, written by, and starring Lucas Belvaux.

<i>Hill 24 Doesnt Answer</i> 1955 film

Hill 24 Doesn't Answer, the first feature film produced in Israel, is a 1955 Israeli war film directed by Thorold Dickinson. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The plot revolves around the personal stories of a number of soldiers who are on their way to defend a strategic hill overlooking the road to Jerusalem.

<i>Elena</i> (2011 film) 2011 film

Elena is a 2011 Russian crime drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize.

<i>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby</i> 2013 American film

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is the collective title of three films written and directed by Ned Benson in his directorial debut, and starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, alongside a supporting cast of Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Katherine Waterston, Ciarán Hinds, Isabelle Huppert, and William Hurt. After the film split into three parts, Him and Her were screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival as a "work in progress". Them premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Them premiered in the United States on September 12, 2014, while Him and Her were released together as double feature on October 10, 2014.

<i>Bastards</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

Bastards is a 2013 thriller film directed by Claire Denis. It stars Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral is a 2008 Japanese animated film produced by ufotable based on The Garden of Sinners novels by Kinoko Nasu. It is the fifth installment in the series, preceded by The Hollow Shrine (2008) and followed by Oblivion Recording (2008). Chronologically, the events that occur in The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral are the sixth in the timeline of the series.

<i>Hippocrate</i> 2014 French film

Hippocrate is a 2014 French drama film directed by Thomas Lilti. It was screened as part of the International Critics' Week section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The film received seven nominations at the 40th César Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor for Reda Kateb.

References

  1. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4357368/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
  2. "Cannes Film Festival Unveils Star-Studded Lineup for 68th Edition". The Hollywood Reporter . 16 April 2015.
  3. "'Golden Years,' 'Marguerite,' 'Dheepan,' 'Mustang' Lead Cesar Nominations". Variety .
  4. "Prix et nominations : Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario 2016". AlloCiné .