Marius et Jeannette (1997)

Director:

Robert Guédiguian

Writers:

Jean-Louis Milesi (scenario and dialogue) and
Robert Guédiguian (scenario and dialogue)

Release Date:

5 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Marius is the keeper of an abandonned cement works staying high above the quarter of l'Estaque in Marseilles...

Plot Keywords:

Working Class | Humanist | Unemployment | Marseilles France | Tongue In Cheek

Awards:

6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Ariane Ascaride	...	Jeannette
Gérard Meylan	...	Marius
Pascale Roberts	...	Caroline
Jacques Boudet	...	Justin
Frédérique Bonnal	...	Monique
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Dédé
Laetitia Pesenti	...	Magali, Jeannette's Daughter
Miloud Nacer	...	Malek, Jeannette's son
Pierre Banderet	...	Monsieur Ebrard
Monique Meylan	...	Avec l'amitié de
Michèle Camizuli Bonneveau	...	Avec l'amitié de (as Michèle Camizuli)
Marc Bordure	...	Avec l'amitié de
Blanche Guichou	...	Avec l'amitié de
Jacques Menichetti	...	Avec l'amitié de
Marie Darroussin	...	Les enfants

Also Known As:

Marius and Jeannette (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | UK:15

Filming Locations:

L'Estaque, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Agat Films & Cie

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jeanette is at Marius's place, they remove the foil wrap from a bottle of Pastis on the outside table. Then they get inside and we see the bottle fully wrapped on the table by the window.

Quotes:

Jeannette: Old people should be shot at birth.

Movie Connections:

Followed by À la place du coeur (1998)

Soundtrack:

La Farandole

Life amidst fantasy

A useful film, if one's studying French socialist thought. In this film all characters are mere debris at the mercy of a capitalist tide. And the "terror" of globalization looms just over the horizon! A serious study of the French Revolution (1789) and its Reign of Terror would be helpful background to understanding this director's seeming grudge against life's realities as acted out by the lead characters. The story line is minimal, with an overpowering message of "death to all aristocrats (capitalists)!" immediately recognizable to any student of French history. Do they still buy this tripe on the Left Bank? Apparently so. If you're watching this as part of a college course you may well ask yourself just how sensible your professor is. But then, he/she's likely to have long since tipped his hand by continually denigrating all that questions Marxist/socialist dogma. Continue to feign agreement, as your final course grade may well depend on it!