Goodbye Gary Cooper in memory of Yasmine Belmadi

22/07/2009

There has been strong critical support for Nassim Amaouche’s debut feature, Goodbye Gary Cooper [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which won the Grand Prize in the latest Cannes Critics’ Week (see review) and is being launched in theatres today by StudioCanal.

The release is tragically overshadowed by the death four days ago in a road accident of Yasmine Belmadi, who stars in the film, alongside Jean-Pierre Bacri and Dominique Reymond. The film has nonetheless sparked the enthusiasm of Télérama ("Perfect osmosis with its characters"), Le Monde ("A subtle pearl"), Libération, Les Inrockuptibles and Positif, which praises the director’s "understated style".

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Amaouche (32) commented: "I wanted to make a film that was directly in touch with social reality, without restricting myself on a formal level or turning to pure naturalism because my characters are from a working-class background".

He added: "I understand the moral reservations of some directors who don’t want to aestheticise poverty. But why can’t we render poor people beautiful? The working class are also worthy of the spotlight, travelling shots and 35mm stock. For me, morality is about searching for a certain truth and truth doesn’t necessarily mean verisimilitude."

This week’s new releases also include four other French films: Agathe Teyssier’s La Femme Invisible (“The Invisible Woman”), starring Julie Depardieu and Charlotte Rampling (distributed by Shellac); Ivan Calbérac’s Alternate Weeks (and Half the Vacation) [+see also:
trailer
film profile], featuring Mathilde Seigner (TFM Distribution); Pascal Jardin’s animated film Totally Spies [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Mars Distribution); and Pierre William Glenn’s documentary Group Portrait With Kids and Motorcycles (Les Films du Phénix).

Also hitting screens are Jean-Marc Vallée’s UK feature The Young Victoria [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Metropolitan Filmexport); Rashid Masharawi’s Dutch co-production Laila’s Birthday (CTV International); and two titles co-produced by France: Last Stop 174 by Brazilian director Bruno Barreto (Océan Films) and Ong-Bak 2 by Thailand’s Tony Jaa (EuropaCorp Distribution).