Directed by:
Manoel de OliveiraCinematography:
Sabine LancelinCast:
Michel Piccoli, Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich, Antoine Chappey, Leonor Silveira, Ricardo Trêpa, Sylvie Testud, Isabel Ruth, Mauricette Gourdon (more)Plots(1)
Michel Piccoli stars as Gilbert Valence, an aging actor who is in the prime of his career, enjoying his pick of prominent roles in both theater and film. During a performance of Exit the King by Eugene Ionesco, with Valence's king weeping over his lost throne, three men arrive backstage to deliver some terrible news: Valence's wife and two children have been killed in a car accident. Saddened but undefeated, Valence continues with the simple daily activities that bring him joy. Each morning he watches his young grandson, Serge (Jean Koeltgen), running off to grade school. He sits in his favorite cafe at his favorite table at the same time each day and drinks coffee. He delights in looking at the monuments of Paris at Trocadero, Place de la Concorde, and the Eiffel Tower. He wanders the grand boulevards, stopping to buy himself a new pair of shoes. A role in The Tempest keeps Valence busy, and when he's at home he plays children's games with Serge. But then his luck turns. His Paris streets become shadowy and dangerous. His agent forces him into a last-minute casting of an English-language film of James Joyce's Ulysses, directed by John Crawford (John Malkovich). (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Michel Piccoli
France
Best movies:
Un amour de pluie (1974)
May Fools (1990)
Mado (1976)
Catherine Deneuve
France
Best movies:
Persepolis (2007)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012) - a.f.
John Malkovich
USA
Best movies:
Of Mice and Men (1992)
Changeling (2008)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Antoine Chappey
France
Best movies:
Le Péril jeune (1994)
I Can't Sleep (1994)
Les Cowboys (2015)
Leonor Silveira
Portugal
Best movies:
Abraham's Valley (1993)
No, or the Vain Glory of Command (1990)
John From (2015)
Ricardo Trêpa
Portugal
Best movies:
No, or the Vain Glory of Command (1990)
Centro Histórico (2012)
To Each His Own Cinema (2007)
Sylvie Testud
France
Best movies:
Maximilian & Marie De Bourgogne (2017) (series)
Beyond Silence (1996)
La Vie en rose (2007)
Isabel Ruth
Portugal
Best movies:
Abraham's Valley (1993)
Lourdes: A Story of Faith, Science and Miracles (2000) (TV movie)
Sunday Afternoon (1966)
Mauricette Gourdon
Best movies:
La Chance de ma vie (2011)
Thirtyfive Something (2005)
I'm Going Home (2001)
Leonor Baldaque
Best movies:
The Portuguese Nun (2009)
I'm Going Home (2001)
Belle toujours (2006)
Christian Ameri
Best movies:
The Intouchables (2011)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) (series)
My Way (2012)
Bruno Guillot
Best movies:
Time Regained (1999)
Stella (2008)
Calm at Sea (2011)