21/11/2005

At the Italian festival in Turin, where he was given a tribute, French filmmaker Claude Chabrol announced that his new film L’Ivresse du pouvoir (Drunkenness of power) interpreted by Isabelle Huppert will have its preview at the Berlinale (9 - 19 February 2006), an event which he has already visited five times in official competition with La Fleur du mal in 2003, Au cœur du mensonge in 1999, Masques in 1987, Les Noces rouges in 1973 and Les Cousins which won the Golden Bear in 1959.

Formerly called La Comédie du pouvoir [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (The comedy of power) , L’Ivresse du pouvoir and with a cast that includes François Berléand, Patrick Bruel and Robin Renucci it is inspired by the political-financial scandals at petrol group Elf-Aquitaine from 1994. Revealing a vast network of corruption protected by the top executives, "the Elf affair" involved ministers, wheeler-dealers, corruptible women and media friendly judges. "I never explicitly cite the Elf scandal" Claude Chabrol explained, "the film seeks to show to what extent someone could sacrifice to get ahead as if it was some sort of mission. This character, the judge played by Isabelle Huppert, got so heavily involved in the affair that she drove her husband to exasperation and to an extreme act: throwing himself from the second floor window and injuring himself".

51st feature from the 75 year old and the 7th collaboration with Isabelle Huppert (the highlight the acting award at Cannes in 1978 for Violette Noziere, and two Volpi Cups at Venice in 1988 for Une affaire de femmes and in 1995 with La Cérémonie), L’Ivresse du pouvoir is a French-German co-production, headed by Alicéléo with the participation at 20% from Berlin’s Integral Film. With 220 000 euros of aid from the French-German co-production, the film is sold internationally by Wild Bunch and will be released in French cinemas on the 22nd February 2006.

(Translated from French)