15/02/2010

Dominik Moll will start shooting The Monk, an adaptation of Matthew Lewis’ eponymous 1796 novel, in April in Spain. It will have a glittering cast including Vincent Cassel (Best Actor Cesar 2009 for his performance in Public Enemy Number One (Part 1) [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Belgian actress Déborah François (Best Female Newcomer Cesar 2009 for The First Day of the Rest of Your Life [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Spain’s Sergi Lopez (soon to be seen in The Boat Race [+see also:
trailer
interview: Bernard Bellefroid, directo…
film profile]) and famous UK/US actress Geraldine Chaplin.

Co-written by the director and Anne-Louise Trividic (Patrice Chéreau’s usual collaborator), the film is set in Madrid at the start of the 17th century and centres on the Capuchin friar Ambrosio (Cassel).

An orphan raised by the monks, he has devoted his life to God and the eradication of sin. Renowned for his virtue and as an unrivalled preacher, he elicits the admiration of all and has been appointed Superior of his monastery. But soon his feelings are stirred by Rosario, a young disfigured female novice.

Described as a gothic novel, Lewis’ The Monk was previously adapted for the big screen in 1972 by Ado Kyrou, whose film was penned by Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière.

Moll has made only two features since his debut in 1994 with Intimacy: With A Friend Like Harry (in competition at Cannes in 2000 and winner of four Cesars in 2001, including Best Director and Best Actor) and Lemming [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which opened the Cannes competition in 2005.

Produced by Michel Saint-Jean for Diaphana, The Monk, which has already received the pledge of an advance on receipts from the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC), will also get co-production support from Spanish company Morena Films. Shooting will take place from mid-April to mid-July.

(Translated from French)