ROMEFILMFEST Alice in the City
A castle for children
Like the Competition (Second Breath [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], screened last night) and Première (Elizabeth, on the programme for this evening) sections, Alice in the City, the RomeFilmFest sidebar dedicated to the youngest filmgoers, also chooses to open with a European title.
The film is My Very Best Friend [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the third feature by actress Isabelle Doval, who after Laughter and Punishment and Bienvenue dans ma tête continues her successful career as a director.
The protagonists, 11 year-olds Esteban (Martin Jobert) and Maxime (Jean Senejoux), grew up in the same Parisian building and are inseparable. More than friends, they are like brothers – so much so that when Esteban’s parents decide to return to Spain, Maxime tries to construct “castles in Spain” in order to keep his friend by his side.
Hence the double meaning of the film’s original title (Un château en Espagne): the castle in Santiago de Compostela where the family want to move, and the proverbial French expression that means constructing castles in the air.
The boys are aided by Maxime’s mother, who attempts to sign Esteban up for a theatre play to keep him in Paris and is played by the César-winning actress Anne Brochet (who starred opposite Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac).
This is the first stage in a process of emotional liberation for this lawyer who, after the premature death of her husband, has warded off her own loneliness by concentrating on her career, entrusting the care of her son to his friend’s parents (Ángela Molina, currently shooting Giuseppe Tornatore’s Baaria, and Lluís Homar, who will be at the Fest also accompanying Julio Medem’s Chaotic Ana).
Played with consummate naturalness by the two little boys, who are already seasoned actors (both of them have done a lot of television work and several important films), My Very Best Friend was produced by EuropaCorp (who will distribute the film in France on February 13, 2008) together with MP Productions.
(Translated from Italian)
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