Quand j'étais chanteur (2006)

Director:

Xavier Giannoli

Writer:

Xavier Giannoli (writer)

Release Date:

13 September 2006 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes love can be found in the most unexpected places (DVD Australia)

Plot:

Alain Moreau sings for one of the few remaining dance-bands in Clermont-Ferrand. Though something of...

Plot Keywords:

Crooner | Ballad | Karaoke

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Alain Moreau
Cécile De France	...	Marion
Mathieu Amalric	...	Bruno
Christine Citti	...	Michèle
Patrick Pineau	...	Daniel
Alain Chanone	...	Philippe Mariani
Christophe	...	Himself / En personne
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Le maire
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Camille De Pazzis	...	Jennifer
Antoine de Prekel	...	Martin
Marie Kremer
Alain Kruger	...	The doctor
Catherine Salviat
Grégory Valais	...	Fabrice

Directed by
Xavier Giannoli

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Xavier Giannoli		writer

Produced by
Luc Besson	....	executive producer
Jean Coulon	....	associate producer
Michel de Wouters	....	associate producer
Pierre-Ange Le Pogam	....	producer
Mehdi Sayah	....	assistant producer
Edouard Weil	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Yorick Le Saux

Film Editing by
Martine Giordano

Casting by
Antoinette Boulat

Production Design by
François-Renaud Labarthe

Art Direction by
Emmanuelle Cuillery

Costume Design by
Nathalie Benros

Production Management
Martin Allegaree	....	unit manager trainee
Mederic Bourlat	....	production manager
Gregory Bruneau	....	assistant unit manager
Sébastien Delepine	....	unit manager trainee
Amélie Melkonian	....	assistant production manager
Guinal Riou	....	assistant unit manager
Grégory Valais	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dominique Delany	....	first assistant director
Ludovic Giraud	....	third assistant director
Bosco Justine	....	assistant director

Art Department
Emmanuelle Cuillery	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Gabriel Hafner	....	sound
Erwan Kerzanet	....	boom operator
François Musy	....	sound
Renaud Musy	....	sound assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Emile Dubuisson	....	first assistant camera

Editorial Department
Basile Belkhiri	....	assistant editor: avid
Mathilde Delacroix	....	color timer
Marie-Julie Maille	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jean-Yves d'Angelo	....	music arranger: songs
Jérôme Lateur	....	music supervisor
Vincent Lebegue	....	music legal coordinator
Elise Luguern	....	music production supervisor
Alexandre Mahout	....	music assistant

Other crew
Patrick Boshart	....	location scout
Myriam Bruguière	....	press attache
Nathalie Choukroun-Lacoste	....	legal assistant
Olivier Guigues	....	press attache
Clémentine Harland	....	production coordinator
Thomas Percy	....	press attache
Leila Smith	....	production assistant
Élodie Van Beuren	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Europa Corp.
• Rectangle Productions
• France 3 Cinéma
• Sofica Europacorp

Distributors

• Artificial Eye (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2008) (Spain) (DVD)
• EuropaCorp. Distribution (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Karma Films (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2006-2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Prokino Filmverleih (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Europa Corp.  international sales

Also Known As:

The Singer (Australia) (festival title)

Runtime:

France:112 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Germany:o.Al. | Australia:M | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Movie Connections:

Features Stromboli (1950)

surprisingly enjoyable

After seeing the trailer I didn't expect to enjoy this movie. Lesson: don't judge a movie by its trailer.

Although it is a fairly corny affair, the setting is an unusual one, the performances and production values are high, and the script unexpectedly funny.

However, without a star of considerable magnitude the entire soufflé would fall flat. Fortunately the great Depardieu is on hand, his giant presence matched by his lightness of touch. It's curious how the old American lions - de Niro, Pacino and the others - don't seem to be able to both play their image while sending it up at the same time: they only manage one thing or the other. In this modest movie, Depardieu is both himself and something of a parody of himself. The result is two-for-the-price-of-one enjoyment.

The songs he sings - very well - are all genuine French pop songs which themselves border on self-parody, in the way that so many country-and western songs do - a seam of humour richly mined by Altman in Nashville. There's nothing so subtle here: Quand J'Etais Chanteur is so loosely woven that close scrutiny would unravel it. But for all that, it's surprisingly enjoyable.