La question humaine (2007)

Director:

Nicolas Klotz

Writers:

Elisabeth Perceval
François Emmanuel (story)

Release Date:

12 September 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama | History | Music | War

Plot:

A psychologist discovers troubling links between Nazism and modern-day big business.

Plot Keywords:

Psychologist | Corporation | Nazism | Paris France | Singer

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Mathieu Amalric	...	Simon
Michael Lonsdale	...	Mathias Jüst
Edith Scob	...	Lucy Jüst
Lou Castel	...	Arie Neumann
Jean-Pierre Kalfon	...	Karl Rose
Valérie Dréville	...	Lynn Sanderson
Laetitia Spigarelli	...	Louisa
Delphine Chuillot	...	Isabelle
Nicolas Maury	...	Tavera
Rémy Carpentier	...	Jacques Paolini
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louis Aguettant	...	Le chanteur de fado
Jessica Cohen	...	La jeune fille qui chante
Mathieu Césarsky	...	Hurleur 2
Cyrille Kervestin	...	Walter
Mamadou Steve Koundio	...	Le travesti africain
Julien Lacroix	...	Philippe
Philippe Montaye	...	Hurleur 1
Miguel Poveda	...	Flamenco singer
Olivier Renouf	...	Le danseur after rave
Erwan Ribard	...	Miguel
Jean-Pierre Vigneau	...	Angelino
Patrick Zocco	...	Le flic

Directed by
Nicolas Klotz

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
François Emmanuel		story
Elisabeth Perceval

Produced by
Sophie Dulac	....	producer
Jean-Christophe Gigot	....	executive producer
Michel Zana	....	producer

Original Music by
Syd Matters

Cinematography by
Josée Deshaies

Film Editing by
Rose-Marie Lausson

Casting by
Stéphane Batut
Isabelle Ungaro

Production Design by
Antoine Platteau

Set Decoration by
Romain Scavazza

Costume Design by
Dorothée Guiraud

Makeup Department
Stéphane Desmarez	....	key hair stylist
Laurence Grosjean	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Sébastien Brun	....	assistant unit manager
Pierre Dufour	....	production manager
Adrien Ledoux	....	assistant production manager
Amélie Melkonian	....	assistant production
Mélanie Pienne	....	assistant unit manager
Pascal Pons	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Emile Louis	....	first assistant director
Fany Pouget	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Laurent Baude	....	assistant art director
Vincent Dugied	....	assistant art director
William Mordos	....	set dresser
Romain Scavazza	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Julie Brenta	....	sound editor
Stéphane De Rocquigny	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dominique Eyraud	....	boom operator
Nicolas Fioraso	....	assistant foley artist
Cyril Holtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Johann Nallet	....	sound recordist
Gadou Naudin	....	foley artist
Brigitte Taillandier	....	sound
Philippe Vandendriessche	....	additional sounds
Jean-Alexandre Villemer	....	sound recordist

Stunts
Gérard Kuhnl	....	stunts
Alain Vanneville	....	stunts
Daniel Vérité	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-Marc Dupuy	....	grip
Catherine Georges	....	first assistant camera
Mohamed Khaznadji	....	key grip
Marianne Lamour	....	gaffer
Christophe Larue	....	electrician
Alexandre Levi	....	electrician

Editorial Department
Nadine Mahé	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Yann Arnaud	....	music mixer
Loris Bernot	....	music recordist

Thanks
Patrick Zocco	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Sophie Dulac Productions
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• CinéCinéma
• Conseil Général de la Sarthe
• Conseil Général du Val de Marne
• Conseil Régional des Pays de la Loire
• Région Ile-de-France

Distributors

• New Yorker Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Zeta Films (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Film Distribution (2007) (worldwide) (all media) (International Sales)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Imovision (2008) (Brazil) (all media)
• Sophie Dulac Distribution (2007) (France) (all media)

Also Known As:

"Heartbeat Detector" - International (English title)
"The Human Question" - USA (literal title)
"A Questão Humana" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"La cuestión humana" - Argentina

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Le Mans, Sarthe, France

Company:

Sophie Dulac Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Les amants cinéma (2008)

A movie about language

This is an interesting movie. The pace is slow, and the subject is painful, so it takes some effort to watch it from end to end. But in the end, it's worth it.

The music is very effective in inducing empathy with the main character, who's going through a life-changing crisis.

The main point is that today's corporate speak is dehumanizing ('units' to designate workers, 'efficiency', 'objectives'), in the same way as the Nazi's ruthless technical language of death was. Language can be a tool of destruction with a clean conscience.

Not perfect - a bit over-obvious sometimes. Also, the people speak like books, which, for me, induced a distance and made suspension of disbelief harder. Good acting though.