J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster (2007)

Director:

Samuel Benchetrit

Writer:

Samuel Benchetrit

Release Date:

26 March 2008 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Told in four vignettes, this existential comedy relates the exploits of four aspiring criminals who hope to improve their lot, but find that they might not have what it takes for a life of crime.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Waitress | Kidnapping | Homage | Toilet

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Anna Mouglalis	...	Suzy - la serveuse
Edouard Baer	...	Gino - le braqueur
Jean Rochefort	...	Jean
Laurent Terzieff	...	Émile
Jean-Pierre Kalfon	...	Max
Venantino Venantini	...	Joe
Roger Dumas	...	Pierrot la Pince
Alain Bashung	...	Alain Bashung
Arno	...	Arno
Bouli Lanners	...	Léon
Serge Larivière	...	Paul dit Paulo
Selma El Mouissi	...	Malaury Stone
Gérald Laroche	...	Le patron
Gábor Rassov	...	Le cuisinier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Samuel Benchetrit	...	Récitant (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Samuel Benchetrit

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Samuel Benchetrit

Produced by
Olivier Delbosc	....	producer
Marc Missonnier	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tikovoi

Cinematography by
Pierre Aïm

Film Editing by
Sophie Reine

Casting by
Gigi Akoka
Jeanne Millet

Production Design by
Nicolas Faure

Set Decoration by
Sébastien Danos

Makeup Department
Laurence Otteny	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Matthieu Constans	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roman Kolinka	....	trainee assistant director
Félicie Leguay	....	second assistant director
Eric Pujol	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Baba Coudanne	....	set dresser
Franck Gies	....	carpenter
Christophe Offret	....	property master
Christophe Offret	....	props
Guillaume Watrinet	....	property master

Sound Department
Vincent Arnardi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Séverin Engler	....	boom operator
Anne Gibourg	....	dialogue editor
Damien Guillaume	....	assistant sound editor
Denis Jaillet-Marsigny	....	sound recordist
Fred Mays	....	post-synchronization
Michel Monier	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Philippe Penot	....	foley artist
Miguel Rejas	....	sound
Olivier Walczak	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Jerome Billet	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Emmanuelle Carlier	....	visual effects coordinator
Guillaume Carniato	....	digital compositor
Alain Carsoux	....	visual effects director
Matthieu Chatelier	....	digital artist
Nicolas Daniel	....	data manager
Bertrand de Saint Seine	....	assistant visual effects editor
Séverine De Wever	....	visual effects coordinator
Abdel Ali Kassou	....	technical manager
Pacini Kevin	....	editor: visual effects
Sebastien Rame	....	digital compositor
Edouard Valton	....	visual effects producer

Stunts
Sybille Blouin	....	stunts
Jean Girard	....	stunts
Philippe Guégan	....	stunts
Xiao Yan Zhang	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Malik Brahimi	....	assistant camera
Mathieu Caudroy	....	Steadicam operator
Nathalie Eno	....	still photographer
Thibault Grabherr	....	still photographer
Romain Lacourbas	....	assistant camera
Marie Queney	....	second assistant camera
Marion Stalens	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Ophélie Gelber	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
Jerome Brechet	....	dailies color grader
Richard Deusy	....	digital color timer
Claire Fieschi	....	assistant editor
Nassim Gordji Tehrani	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Elise Luguern	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Marylène Dastugue	....	production secretary
Laurent Duquesnoy	....	key-grip
Stéphanie Fouet	....	administrator
Nicholas Frank	....	legal affairs assistant
François Pujol	....	location scout
Isabelle Ribis	....	script supervisor
Daisy Sadler	....	production assistant
Pascal Vallart	....	production accountant

Thanks
Saül	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Fidélité Productions (as Fidélité)
• Virtual Films (in association with)
• Wild Bunch (in association with)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)

Distributors

• Atlantis Entertainment (2009) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Mars Distribution (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• HBO Hungary (2011) (Hungary) (TV)

Special Effects

• Duboi (visual effects)

Other Companies

• DDE des Yvelines  thanks
• TSF  grip equipment
• Telegrip  grip equipment

Also Known As:

"I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster" - International (English title), USA
"Я всегда хотел быть гангстером" - Russia
"Ah kai na ginomoun gangster!" - Greece (festival title)
"Mindig gengszter akartam lenni" - Hungary
"Panta oneirevomoun na gino gangster" - Greece (DVD title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Fidélité Productions

Trivia:

Sergi López had been hired to play Gino but he broke his leg and was replaced by Edouard Baer.

Movie Connections:

References Goodfellas (1990)

Soundtrack:

I Shot The Sheriff

Has its moments

This was the first movie we saw at Sundance this year, and we really did enjoy it. It's not a laugh riot from beginning to end, but its gentle humor amused us, and we were interested enough in the characters to care about the story. This was actually 4 vignettes tied together by a common location. We actually were disappointed that some of the stories were left hanging, so to speak, and we were left to wonder about their characters. Another picky-picky complaint (and perhaps this was just our theater), was that the subtitles got lost in the white counter tops at the bottom of the screen. They were very difficult to read at times. Perhaps a different color font should have been used.