21/05/2008

Four year-old Enzo is just like any other boy: he chases birds in the park, kicks the first ball that comes his way and sleeps deeply. But his life is different from that of an ordinary child for he sleeps on the street with his mother Nina.

Thus begins Versailles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Geraldine Michelot
interview: Pierre Schoeller
film profile], the debut directorial feature by screenwriter Pierre Schoeller (who previously worked with Erick Zonca and Jean-Pierre Limosin). This touching film on the difficult subject of extreme poverty screened at Cannes in Un Certain Regard.

Struggling for years, squatting and taking on temporary jobs, Nina (Judith Chemla) wanders the streets at night with little Enzo (Max Baissette de Malglaive). Fighting – for them both – against cold, hunger, tiredness and dirtiness, she is a very attentive mother who lies to keep from having her child taken away from her.

Sent to a hostel in Versailles, Nina and Enzo meet Damien, a misfit (played by the outstanding Guillaume Depardieu) who lives in a hut in the Versailles Château park. Leaving only a letter by way of explanation, Nina leaves her son with Damien in order to try and rebuild her own life. But when she returns, they’ve disappeared.

Having first tried to rid himself of Enzo, Damien becomes fond of the child and enables him to escape from the lifestyle and company of homeless people, providing a future for him with the help of his father and his girlfriend (Patrick Descamps and Aure Atika). This difficult return to a "normal" life – experienced at the same time by Nina, who has become a nursing auxiliary in the provinces – is subtly explored by Schoeller, who sensitively handles the issue of poverty and the self-destructive behaviour to which it often leads.

Also of note is the striking chiaroscuro cinematography and natural light used by DoP Julien Hirsch.

Produced by Les Films Pelléas, Versailles was made for €2.6m, which included an advance on receipts from the National Film Centre (CNC) and backing from the Ile-de-France region, Centre Images and Canal +.

Domestic distribution and international sales are being handled by Les Films du Losange.

(Translated from French)