Les amants du Pont-Neuf (1991)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Leos Carax

Writer:

Leos Carax (writer)

Release Date:

2 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Romance... In a most unlikely place.

Plot:

Set against Paris' oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, while it was closed for repairs, this film is a love story between two young vagrants: Alex...

Plot Keywords:

Vagrant | Bridge | Love | Painter | Ferris Wheel

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Michèle Stalens
Denis Lavant	...	Alex
Daniel Buain	...	L'ami clochard / Alex's vagrant friend
Klaus-Michael Grüber	...	Hans
Marion Stalens	...	Marion
Chrichan Larsson	...	Julien (as Chrichan Larson)
Paulette Berthonnier	...	La marinière / Barge operator
Roger Berthonnier	...	Le marinier / Barge operator
Edith Scob	...	La femme en voiture
Georges Aperghis	...	L'homme en voiture
Michel Vandestien	...	Le pompier
Georges Castorp	...	Un endormi
Marc Desclozeaux	...	Un endormi
Alain Dahan	...	Un endormi
Pierre Pessemesse	...	Un endormi

Also Known As:

L'amour entre une fils et un garçon (France) (working title)
Les amants de Paris (France) (working title)
Lovers on the Ninth Bridge (Australia) (video title)
Lovers on the Pont Neuf (Australia) (cable TV title)
The Lovers on the Bridge (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, sexuality/nudity and substance abuse.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:18 (theatrical) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bienvenue Montparnasse - 8, rue de l'Arrivee, Paris 15, Paris, France

Company:

Films A2

Trivia:

Léos Carax was originally given permission to use the real Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris and have it closed for filming but delays in filming meant the permission expired and he had to reconstruct the whole thing on a lake near Montpellier, France.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Doisneau des villes, doisneau des champs (1993)

Carax is the most interesting storyteller I've come across in a while-

There's a lot to say here about the performances of Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant. Lavant is always good in Carax's films; here he is simply outstanding. And seeing Binoche play a character with dimension, for once, is a pleasure. The real surprise is Klaus-Michael Gruber whose Hans is perhaps the most believable aspect of the film.

But what draws me to this film--tied for best of what I've seen Carax do, along with "Mauvais Sang"--is the photography, sound and editing. Carax understands the use of image in narrative, and how to bring discordant scenes together to provide the sense of desperation needed to make this love story, so far removed from mainstream film romance, believable and engaging. From the opening soundtrack to the climactic scenes given over by his masterful use of jump cuts, Carax outdoes others, some long-established, who came late on the scene with these tools (Bertolucci; Soderbergh). What Carax started craft-wise with "Boy Meets Girl" he perfect in "Les Amants du Pont Neuf."

If Lavant, Binoche and Gruber are not reason enough to rent this film, then Carax's pictorial ideas, carried through with his incredible sense of craft, should more than suffice. Sad that the film has suffered so quietly without major recognition, when, clearly, others have borrowed from it so willingly.