L'appartement (1996)

Director:

Gilles Mimouni

Writer:

Gilles Mimouni (writer)

Release Date:

27 July 1996 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

Max is on his way to Tokyo. He lives in Paris and likes to flirt but has decided to get married. By chance...

Plot Keywords:

Buddy | Apartment | Airport | Nonlinear Timeline | Actress

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Romane Bohringer	...	Alice
Vincent Cassel	...	Max
Jean-Philippe Écoffey	...	Lucien
Monica Bellucci	...	Lisa
Sandrine Kiberlain	...	Muriel
Olivier Granier	...	Daniel
Paul Pavel	...	Jeweller
Nelly Alard	...	Madeleine
Bruno Leonelli	...	Alain Beccaria
Tateo Isaizaki	...	Japanese Businessman
Tsuyu Shimizu	...	Japanese Interpreter
Ricardo Mateo	...	Cafe Waiter
Vincent Nemeth	...	Barman
Bruno Fernández Vella	...	Video Technician
Juan Carlos Martín Alonso	...	Video Technician
Claude Hirch	...	Video Technician
Hervé Jakubowicz	...	Video Sales
Oury Milshtein	...	Receptionist
Roger Patrice Bernard	...	Room Service
Vanessa Soboul	...	Josiane
Sandra Gayarre	...	Shoe salesperson
Marcel Godot	...	Hotel Manager
André Haber	...	Priest
Bruno Ricci	...	Theatre Actor
Fenia Papadodima	...	Theatre Actess (as Photini Papadodima)
Edouard Baer	...	Theatre Actor
Michel Bompoil	...	Director
Michèle Rème	...	Theatre Secretary
Jorge Bosch	...	Bernard
Eva Ionesco	...	Woman at Travel Agency
Enzo Gallo	...	Passer-by
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Diane Calma	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Gilles Mimouni

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gilles Mimouni		writer

Produced by
Georges Benayoun	....	producer
Mate Cantero	....	associate producer
Elisabeth Deviosse	....	executive producer
Yves Marmion	....	associate producer
Stéphane Sorlat	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Peter Chase

Cinematography by
Thierry Arbogast

Film Editing by
Caroline Biggerstaff
Françoise Bonnot

Casting by
Gigi Akoka

Production Design by
Philippe Chiffre

Art Direction by
Philippe Chiffre

Set Decoration by
Corinne Lafaille

Costume Design by
Laurence Heller

Makeup Department
Lourdes Briones	....	makeup artist
John Nollet	....	hair stylist
Luca Oblach	....	head makeup artist

Production Management
Bruno Coulon	....	unit manager
Patrice Poupard	....	unit manager
Jacques Scarrone	....	unit production manager
Ana Vila	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marta de Benito	....	assistant director
Hervé Jakubowicz	....	assistant director
Bernard Pujolar	....	assistant director
Luc Riff	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Vincent Arnardi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Chevallier	....	sound recordist
Eric Devulder	....	sound
Thierry Lebon	....	sound mixer
Stephane Lioret	....	boom operator
Jacques Thomas-Gérard	....	sound mixer
Vincent Tulli	....	sound effects
Ken Yasumoto	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Reyes Abades	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Gil Fontbonne	....	key grip
Carlos Parra	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laurence Heller	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Yvan Lucas	....	color timer
Isabelle Manquillet	....	trainee assistant editor
Isabelle Proust	....	assistant editor

Production Companies

• Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica
• IMA Productions
• La Sept Cinéma
• M6 Films
• Mate Producciones S.A.
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Distributors

• Artificial Eye (1997) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Galileo Medien AG (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Homescreen (1997) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Lionsgate (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2000) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Les Versaillais

Also Known As:

Flash-back (El apartamento) (Spain)
L'appartamento (Italy)
The Apartment
Квартира (Russia) [ru]
Diamerisma sto kentro tis polis (Greece) [el]
Ha-Dira (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Kohtalokas asunto (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Lügen der Liebe (Germany) [de]
Leiligheten (Norway) [no]
Liebe und Lügen (Germany) (cable TV title) [de]
Tyttöjen boksi (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

France | Spain | Italy

Language:

French | English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R (DVD) | Finland:K-15 (2006) | South Korea:18 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Estudios Los Angeles, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Movie Connections:

References Rear Window (1954)

Soundtrack:

Same kind of woman

Formidable!

This is an astonishing film: a romantic thriller with a convoluted but perfectly constructed and devastatingly symmetrical plot, brilliantly buttressed by the use of recurring visual motifs. Everything in it is beautifully filmed: the women, the apartments; but more amazing is the devastating juxtapositioning of images, almost every scene has echoes of another. This is a story told in light, in colour, in many almost-parallels. Every time I watch it, it fills me with delight.

The acting is great too. Romane Bohringer is stunning as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown: everything about her changes with her mood. Vincent Cassel plays a very different role to his part in La Haine; but no less excellently: shifty and sympathetic at the same time. And Monica Bellucci - ah!, Monica Bellucci, well, put simply, she plays (is?) the world's most perfect woman. There's one small scene about three quarters of the way through where she does nothing more than smile; yet in that instant, says more than hours of Hollywood junk.

One cannot do justice to this film without at least mentioning the superb, sequential climax: sad, shocking, ironic and subtle in turn. But if one moment captures the brilliance of this work, it's the scene at the start of this fabulous denouement, the prospect of which has been teasingly laid before us throughout the entire story. Yet when the moment comes, it is handled so delicately, so briefly, so deftly, that on reflection it makes you gasp. Only a director of staggering confidence would dare to underplay this vital point. But the confidence is justified. Cinema doesn't come much better than this.