Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Guédiguian
Starring: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan
Language: French
Duration: 107 min.
Rating: 6.6  

Summary:
Michel, lives happily with Marie-Claire, his wife of nearly 30 years. A dedicated trade unionist, he is tasked with calling out the names in a draw that will decide who will be laid off to save their shipyard. To everyone's surprise he calls out his own name, leading to an unexpected new phase in his life.



The Snows of Kilimanjaro is a film directed by Robert Guédiguian, based on a poem by Victor Hugo titled Les pauvres gens and named after a 1960s French pop song by Pascal Danel. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

A fable like story set in the southern port city of Marseilles, where long time union man Michel (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) despite not being required to do so, puts his own name in a draw to see which 20 unlucky men will be laid-off at the local shipyard. Evidently he calls out his own name and goes home to an early retirement.

In his new found spare time, he plays with his grandchildren, hangs out with close friends, and is enjoying this new phase in life with his loving wife of 30 years Marie-Claire (Ariane Ascaride). However, one evening they are violently robbed by two home-invaders, and that leads to some very unexpected consequences.

Darroussin (who played a wonderful part in Le Havre), and Ascaride (nominated for a César for her role here) are both impressive, entirely believable as a solid but far from perfect couple who have a loving and supportive relationship.

The story starts out in an interesting way and slowly unfolds to reveal some unique complexities. However, the couple's ultimate response to the crime and the resulting situation although heartwarming, doesn't entirely ring true.

Bonjour Tristesse

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro • Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011)

5 comments:

FrontRoomCinema said...

Looks like a film that I would very much enjoy. I did so like Darroussin in Le Havre

The Angry Lurker said...

Sounded like a good story for couples.....

G said...

Sounds like an ideal film for the wife.

d_4 said...

It's got an interesting base to it. What's done beyond that point is what can make the film worth it or not. I'm not too impressed, but who knows until they watch it?

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah, I think you might like this one too.

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