05/07/2006

Italian and British films are in the spotlight this Wednesday in French theatres, with the release of Manual of Love by Giovanni Veronesi and Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story by Michael Winterbottom.

The two other European titles opening today are UK/German co-production Radio On by Christopher Petit (released by Les Films du Paradoxe on 5 screens) and French feature Qui m’aime me suive (lit. “Those Who Like Me Follow Me”) by Benoît Cohen.

These four European productions will vie for audiences who this week have nine US titles and the latest title by Takeshi Kitano to choose from.

Distributed by ARP Sélection on 51 screens, Veronesi’s comedy, produced by Filmauro, was a big box office success in Italy last year, grossing €14m and getting 12 nominations at the David de Donatello awards.

The film got a complete makeover for the French market, including a change in title – from the Italian Manuale d'amore (lit. “Manual of Love”) to Leçons d’amour à l’italienne (lit. “Love Lessons The Italian Way”). Its marketing campaign was further based on the film’s sentimental story rather than its cast, which features Carlo Verdone, Luciana Littizzetto, Silvio Muccino, Sergio Rubini, and Francesco Mandelli – all well-known to French audiences – along with the less familiar Margherita Buy and Jasmine Trinca.

ID Distribution will release A Cock and Bull Story by highly prolific UK director Winterbottom on 65 screens. The film was renamed Tournage dans un jardin anglais (la vie invraisemblable de Tristram Shandy) for French audiences.

Starring Steve Coogan, the feature – presented in official competition at San Sebastian (see article) – follows the director’s most recent masterpiece, The Road to Guantanamo [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which hit French screens on June 7.

Meanwhile Cohen Qui m’aime me suive, starring Mathieu Demy, Romane Bohringer, Julie Depardieu and Eleonore Pourriat is opening on 180 screens (distributed by Pyramide). The film, which was produced by Shadows Films on a €2.93m budget and benefited from a pre-sales agreement from Canal + and Ciné Cinéma, hopes to repeat the performance of the director’s previous feature, Our Precious Children, which garnered 361,000 admissions in the summer of 2003.

(Translated from French)