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VENICE 2008 Horizons / France

The calvary of modern living

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French director Arnaud des Pallières looks at life in a contemporary gated community on the Côte d’Azur in his third feature Le Parc [+see also:
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. The two-hander, adapted from a ‘60s novel by US writer John Cheever, stars Jean-Marc Barr and Sergi Lopez as, respectively, Mr Hammer and Mr Nail, two people destined to clash in a violent manner.

Des Pallières, for whom this is his first adaptation of previously published material, updates the material to a schizoid and paranoid modern France, where the wealthy have isolated themselves in gated communities like Le Parc, substituting potted palms and the smell of chlorine from their swimming pools for the stench of burning cars in the banlieues.

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But in Le Parc, nothing will ever be the same again when Mr Hammer moves in. Told in flashbacks from a court house, it is clear a terrible crime has been committed, and des Pallières enigmatic storytelling style and composer Martin Wheeler’s frequent use of ice-cold xylophonic melodies underline the hollowness of the lives of the rich, with perfume-ad production values only adding to the punch.

Though adapted from a US book, the director wanted to “tell a story about France today. The film takes from the book the fact that the environment in which the story unfolds is at the heart of the story”.

The film was produced by Serge Lalou for Les Films d’Ici in co-production with France 3 Cinéma and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and with backing from Canal +, Ciné Cinéma, Région Rhône Alpes, Région Alpes Côte d’Azur, CNC, Editions Montparnasse, MEDIA, and Films Distribution. The latter also handles international sales, while Ad Vitam will distribute the film domestically.

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