11/09/2003

The film by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Bon Voyage [+see also:
trailer
film profile], has been chosen to represent France in the competition for the shortlist of the films running for Best Foreign Film Oscar. The film has an all-star French cast, starring Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Virginie Ledoyen, Peter Coyote and Yvan Attal. It is produced by ARP Sélection together with France 2 Cinéma and France 3 Cinéma. Bon voyage cost €22m and it went down extremely well with the critics when it was released in France on April 16. It’s audience figures of 796,000 were slightly lower than the director expected, given that he is used to attracting a large public.

Bon Voyage is about the adventures of people fleeing from Paris to Bordeaux during the German attack in June 1940. It’s a very sophisticated screenplay, set to a deliberately nervous rhythm, and the acting is one of the particular strong points of this film. It was almost entirely shot in the studio in a style that doesn’t try to mimic historical realism.
This is Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s third nomination to go forward to the Oscars: in 1964 he was nominated for the screenplay of That Man from Rio and again in 1990 for Cyrano de Bergerac (which won a Golden Globe in 1991 for Best Foreign Film).
The next date to watch is January 27, 2004, when the final shortlist of the 5 films competing for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film will be published. Oscar night itself is being held on February 29, 2004.

(Translated from French)