17/12/2008

Today sees Wild Bunch Distribution’s high-profile release on 500 screens of Jérôme Salle’s Largo Winch [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. The film is adapted from the first two volumes of the successful comic book series by Belgian duo Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq.

Well received by the press, this adventure film set in the ruthless world of international finance has a cast that includes rising star Tomer Sisley (Crime Insiders [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), UK actress Kristin Scott Thomas (recent winner of the European Film Award for Best Actress and nominated for the Golden Globe 2009 for I’ve Loved You So Long [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Miki Manojlovic (Irina Palm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sam Garbarski
interview: Sébastien Delloye
film profile]), Mélanie Thierry, Gilbert Melki, Anne Consigny and Czech actor Karel Roden.

Co-written by the director and Julien Rappeneau, the film traces the misadventures of Largo, the hidden heir of multimillionaire Nerio Winch, founder and majority shareholder of the W Group.

On the death of his father (drowned in suspicious circumstances), Largo (Sisley) – who was adopted almost 30 years previously in a Bosnian orphanage – is imprisoned in the Amazon after being accused of drug trafficking. What if these two events are part of a plot to take control of the Winch empire?

"The film is a combination of fable and thriller" commented Salle (who won great acclaim in 2005 for his debut feature Anthony Zimmer). "Behind the adventure, we also explore adoption and the search for identity. There are human stakes and something personal in this subject."

The co-screenwriter also spoke of a double interpretation: "There’s a contemporary side with current economic concerns such as globalisation and the power of sprawling multinational groups which sometimes belong to one person. And there’s the timeless side of the story of a king’s son who rejects his destiny".

Shot over 86 days in Malta, Sicily, Macao, Hong Kong and France, Largo Winch was produced by Nathalie Gastaldo for Pan-Européenne. The €25m film received co-production backing from TF1 Films Production, Wild Bunch and Casa Productions, as well as support from the Belgian tax shelter fund.

The score was composed by renowned musician Alexandre Desplat.

This Wednesday also sees the launch of the subtle film The Wedding Song [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Karin Albou (Little Jerusalem), which looks at the friendship between two teenage girls (one Jewish, the other Muslim) in Nazi-occupied Tunis in 1942 (produced by Gloria Films - co-produced by France 3 Cinéma - launched by Pyramide Distribution on 47 screens); and Nicolas Bary’s ambitious The Children of Timpelbach, starring Gérard Depardieu and Carole Bouquet and set in a village left in the hands of its youngest inhabitants (produced by Chapter 2 - co-produced by Onyx Films, M6 Films, Luxembourg’s Luxanimation and Belgium’s Scope Pictures - released by Pathé Distribution on 306 screens).

Meanwhile, Films du Losange are launching a 65-print run of Agnès Varda’s excellent documentary The Beaches of Agnès [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (unveiled out of competition at the Venice Film Festival and backed by Arte France Cinéma).

Other European releases include the Scandinavian feature for children Niko and the Way to the Stars [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen (Bac Films on 370 screens); Marco Bechis’ Italian production Birdwatchers [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (which won acclaim in competition at Venice - Océan Films on 51 screens); Eric Till’s German film Luther (Artedis on eight screens - released domestically in 2003); and US director Harmony Korine’s UK/Irish/French co-production Mister Lonely [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (unveiled in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2007 - distributed by Shellac).

(Translated from French)