| Valley of Love | |
|---|---|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Guillaume Nicloux |
| Written by | Guillaume Nicloux |
| Produced by | Cyril Colbeau-Justin Jean-Baptiste Dupont Sylvie Pialat |
| Starring | Isabelle Huppert Gérard Depardieu |
| Cinematography | Christophe Offenstein |
| Edited by | Guy Lecorne |
| Music by | Charles Ives |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Le Pacte |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Languages | French English |
| Budget | $2.9 million [1] |
| Box office | $1.2 million [2] |
Valley of Love is a 2015 French film directed by Guillaume Nicloux, starring Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert. It tells the story of two French people who used to be a couple and had a son 31 years ago. They reunite after the son's death, having received a letter asking them to visit five places in Death Valley, which will make the son reappear. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. [3] [4] The film won the César Award for Best Cinematography at the 41st César Awards. [5]
Gérard and Isabelle, a French couple separated for decades, meet up at a desert motel in California. Each has received a letter from their son Michaël, who killed himself in San Francisco six months earlier, asking them to visit certain spots in Death Valley on certain days, when he will reappear to them. While Isabelle has stayed petite and attractive, she is shocked to see that Gérard is in poor health and enormous. The two squabble and sentimentalise, sometimes wondering if an old flame could be reignited and sometimes sick of the other's company. Grumbling at the apparent pointlessness of the mission, and wilting under the intense heat, they nevertheless follow Michaël's instructions. One night back at the motel, Isabelle panics and Gérard rushes to her room. She is convinced there was an intruder, who could have been Michaël. She says he seized her ankles, which afterwards exhibit a mysterious inflammation. Out together in the desert, Gérard walks on alone and returns to Isabelle in panic, convinced that he met Michaël, who seized his wrists. Later, they too become inflamed. The film ends there, leaving viewers to ponder what meaning the couple will draw from their experience and whether it may bring them closer again.
The film was produced through Les Films du Worso and LGM Cinéma, with co-production support from DD Productions, France 3 Cinéma and Belgium's Scope Pictures. It was pre-bought by Canal+ and received backing from the CNC, Soficinéma, Cinémage, Cofinova and Palatine Etoile Soficas. Filming in California began on 8 September 2014. [6]
The film was released in France on 17 June 2015. [7]
In November 2015, the film was released by Strand Releasing in the United States. [8]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Cannes Film Festival [3] | Palme d'Or | Guillaume Nicloux | Nominated |
| 41st César Awards [9] | Best Actor | Gérard Depardieu | Nominated |
| Best Actress | Isabelle Huppert | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Christophe Offenstein | Won | |
| 21st Lumières Awards [10] | Best Actor | Gérard Depardieu | Nominated |
| Best Actress | Isabelle Huppert | Nominated | |
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor, known to be one of the most prolific in film history. He has completed over 250 films since 1967, almost exclusively as a lead. Depardieu has worked with over 150 film directors whose most notable collaborations include Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Maurice Pialat, Alain Resnais, Claude Chabrol, Ridley Scott, and Bernardo Bertolucci. He is the second highest-grossing actor in the history of French cinema behind Louis de Funès. As of January 2022, his body of work also includes countless television productions, 18 stage plays, 16 records and 9 books. He is known for having portrayed numerous leading historical and fictitious figures of the Western world including Georges Danton, Joseph Stalin, Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Rodin, Cyrano de Bergerac, Jean Valjean, Edmond Dantès, Christopher Columbus, Obélix, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert is a French actress. Known for her portrayals of cold, austere women devoid of morality, she is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. With 16 nominations and two wins, Huppert is the most nominated actress at the César Awards. She is also the recipient of several accolades, including five Lumières Awards, a BAFTA Award, three European Film Awards, two Berlin International Film Festival, three Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival honors, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her second on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century.
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