Le temps du loup (2003)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke (writer)

Release Date:

8 October 2003 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

When Anna and her family arrive at their holiday home, they find it occupied by strangers. This confrontation is just the beginning of a painful learning process.

Plot Keywords:

Barn | Bike | Gun Fire | Immigrant | Sociology

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Anne Laurent
Béatrice Dalle	...	Lise Brandt
Patrice Chéreau	...	Thomas Brandt
Rona Hartner	...	Arina
Maurice Bénichou	...	M. Azoulay
Olivier Gourmet	...	Koslowski
Brigitte Roüan	...	Béa
Lucas Biscombe	...	Ben
Hakim Taleb	...	Young runaway
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Eva
Serge Riaboukine	...	The leader
Marilyne Even	...	Mme Azoulay
Florence Loiret	...	Nathalie Azoulay (as Florence Loiret-Caille)
Branko Samarovski	...	Policeman
Daniel Duval	...	Georges Laurent
Thierry van Werveke	...	Jean
Michaël Abiteboul	...	Armed man
Pierre Berriau	...	Fred, the killer in the chalet
Costel Cascaval	...	Constantin
Luminita Gheorghiu	...	Mrs. Homolka
Franck Gourlat	...	Water seller
François Hauteserre	...	The music lover
Maria Hofstätter	...	Quarrelsome woman
Valérie Moreau	...	Fred's wife
Claude Singeot	...	Razor-blade man
Ina Strnad	...	Chalet child
Adriana Trandafir	...	Marya
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roman Agrinz
Alexander Bárta
Peter Bartak
Gabriela Bauer
Ileana Brancau
Georg Friedrich
Simon Hatzl
Alexandra Höftmann
Edmund Jäger
Silke Jandl
Dorothea Kocsis
Natascha Kuhskova
Carmen Loley
Andreas Lust
Huttová Margita
Marian Mitas
Martin Najalka
Klaus Ortner
Maria Esperanza Paraschiv
Petru Pecican
Andreas Puehringer
Sonja Romei
Christoph Theußl
Sophie Wimmer-Lieb
Christian Wlach
Werner Wultsch	...	Bauernbursche
Mira Zeichmann

Directed by
Michael Haneke

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Haneke		writer

Produced by
Veit Heiduschka	....	producer
Michael Katz	....	executive producer
Margaret Ménégoz	....	producer
Michael Weber	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Jürgen Jürges

Film Editing by
Nadine Muse
Monika Willi

Casting by
Markus Schleinzer

Production Design by
Christoph Kanter

Art Direction by
James David Goldmark

Costume Design by
Lisy Christl

Production Management
Nathalie Nghet	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Katharina Biró	....	second assistant director
Hanus Polak Jr.	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Sophie Chiabaut	....	boom operator
Philippe Dongé	....	sound mix technician
William Franck	....	reshoot sound recordist
Eric Grattepain	....	foley artist
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Guillaume Sciama	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Peter Hric	....	stunts
Roman Jankovic	....	stunt rider
Michael Sandala	....	horse wrangler

Camera and Electrical Department
Oliver Haas	....	best boy electric
Marcus Kanter	....	additional assistant camera
Oliver Lechner	....	assistant camera
Christoph Nickel	....	gaffer
Gerald Piesch	....	clapper loader
Jörg Widmer	....	Steadicam operator

Editorial Department
Yannick Coutheron	....	assistant editor
Alarich Lenz	....	assistant editor
Willi Willinger	....	colorist

Other crew
Peter Hric	....	horse master
Eva Jürgens	....	set production assistant

Production Companies

• Bavaria Film
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Eurimages
• France 3 Cinéma
• Les Films du Losange
• Wega Film
• arte France Cinéma

Distributors

• Les Films du Losange (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• BIM Distribuzione (Italy)
• Belga Films (2003) (Turkey) (all media)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Camera Film (Denmark)
• Cinéart (Benelux)
• Divisa Home Video (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Filmladen (2004) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Impuls Home Entertainment (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Intercinema Art Agency (Russia)
• Kamras Film Group (Finland)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Palm Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Rosebud (Greece)
• SEG (Norway)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Triangelfilm (Sweden)
• Ventura Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Xenix Filmdistribution (2003-2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• absolut MEDIEN (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Libra Film  casting
• Listo Video  post-production

Also Known As:

The Time of the Wolf (UK)
Wolfzeit (Germany)
El tiempo del lobo (Argentina) (festival title) [es]
Farkasok ideje (Hungary) [hu]
Il tempo dei lupi (Italy) [it]
Kurdun günü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
O Tempo do Lobo (Brazil) (festival title) [pt]
Suden aika (Finland) [fi]
Vargens tid (Sweden) [sv]

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, language and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

France:113 min (Cannes Film Festival) | Hong Kong:113 min (Hong Kong International Film Festival) | Argentina:114 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) | USA:114 min

Country:

France | Austria | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Großmittel, Ebenfurth, Lower Austria, Austria

Company:

Bavaria Film

Movie Connections:

Featured in Inthierryview (2008)

Unique post-apocalypse drama

A French woman (Isabelle Huppert) and her two young children struggle for survival shortly after an unidentified apocalypse. This is a very different sort of post-apocalyptic film--it is very minimalist and dramatic. The most fascinating aspect is that whatever happened to the world is never explained or even discussed by the characters. The only thing they know is that uncontaminated water is scarce and personal belongings are very valuable. They are living in the present, fighting for survival. The characters are often devoid of extreme emotion during the crises they face in the film, so the viewer assumes that whatever happened that changed the world must have been graphic and brutal.

Haneke is an exceptional filmmaker and has quite an eye. The combination of lingering camera-work and lack of score create an uneasy tension. Some might argue that the movie is boring because there isn't much action, but I thought it was visually stunning. The movie attempts to be about post-apocalypse social struggle and power--including conflict between different nationalities and genders--but it could have been more successful in doing this. The acting is outstanding (especially by Huppert and the actress that plays her daughter). Even though she gets co-billing, Beatrice Dalle is only in the film for a bit, but she does have a "Betty Blue"-style freak-out. I recommend this to anyone who likes post-apocalypse movies and is interested in seeing a hauntingly realistic one.

My Rating: 7/10