14/09/2010

It’s back to Marseilles and a modern-day setting for Robert Guédiguian after his Paris-set Second World War drama The Army of Crime [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (presented out of competition at Cannes in 2009). On September 8, the director started shooting in Marseilles on his 17th feature: The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

The cast includes Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Gérard Meylan, Maryline Canto, Adrien Jolivet, Robinson Stévenin, Karole Rocher, Jacques Boudet and Anaïs Demoustier.

The film is co-scripted by Guédiguian and his regular collaborator Jean-Louis Milesi. Although he has lost his job, Michel lives happily with Marie-Claire. They’ve been in love for 30 years, are fulfilled as parents and grand-parents, have close friends and are proud of their trade union and political battles.

This happiness is shattered along with their French window when two young armed and masked men hit them, tie them up, pull off their wedding rings and make off with their credit cards. Their distress is all the more acute when they find out the attack was organised by a young worker made redundant at the same time as Michel.

However, they gradually discover that their attacker, Christophe, only acted out of necessity: he lives alone with his two little brothers and does an admirable job of looking after them, attending to their education and health. Their mother left them to live her own life and they never knew their father.

Michel and Marie-Claire thus decide to look after the two little brothers while they wait for Christophe to be released from prison.

Guédiguian was selected in competition at Berlin in 2005 with The Last Mitterrand and in 2008 with Lady Jane [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and at Cannes in 2002 with Marie-Jo and Her 2 Lovers). His other films include Marius and Jeannette (1997) and The Town Is Quiet (2001).

Produced by Agat Films & Ex Nihilo, The Snows of Kilimanjaro has received co-production support from France 3 Cinéma, pre-acquisitions from Canal + and Ciné Cinéma, funding from the PACA region, and backing from Sofica Cofimage 22, Cinémage 5, La Banque Postale Image 4 and Soficinéma 7.

Shooting will last eight weeks in Marseilles. The film will be released domestically by Diaphana, while international sales are being handled by Film Distribution.

(Translated from French)