This Must Be the Place (2011)

Director:

Paolo Sorrentino

Writers:

Umberto Contarello (screenplay)
Paolo Sorrentino (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 August 2011 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Never for money Always for love

Plot:

A bored, retired rock star sets out to find the man responsible for his father's humiliation, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S.

Plot Keywords:

Rock | Rock Star | Ex Nazi | Revenge | Humiliation

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Sean Penn	...	Cheyenne
Frances McDormand	...	Jane
Judd Hirsch	...	Mordecai Midler
Eve Hewson	...	Mary
Kerry Condon	...	Rachel
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Robert Plath
Joyce Van Patten	...	Dorothy Shore
David Byrne	...	Himself
Olwen Fouere	...	Mary's Mother (as Olwen Fouéré)
Shea Whigham	...	Ernie Ray
Liron Levo	...	Richard
Simon Delaney	...	Jeffery
Heinz Lieven	...	Aloise Lange
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Seth Adkins	...	Jimmy
Peter Carey	...	Saks Clerk
Sarah Carroll	...	Woman on Ship
Ron Coden	...	Gun Shop patron
Bern Cohen	...	Rabbi Cohen
Tim Craiger	...	Cowboy Airport Passenger
Nancy Doetsch	...	Concert Attendee
Davis Gloff	...	Gun Shop Owner
Grant Goodman	...	Tommy
Kris Graverson	...	Saks Shopper
Robert Herrick	...	Airport Business Man
Jann Hight
Julia Ho	...	Saks Elavator Woman
Sarab Kamoo	...	Saks Woman
Sam Keeley	...	Desmond
Kef Lee	...	Concert Attendee
Madge Levinson	...	Jackie
Emma Lock	...	Telecommunicator (voice)
Ross Mac Mahon	...	Coffee Waiter
Andrea Mellos
Gordon Michaels	...	Tattoo Mike
Antonio Monda	...	Man on the bench - Central Park
Gavin O'Connor	...	Bank employee
Jer O'Leary	...	Bereaved Father in Cemetery
Johnny Ward	...	Stephen
Fritz Weaver	...	Cheyenne's Father (voice)
Inga R. Wilson	...	Ernie Ray's Wife
Richard 'Rick' Bobier	...	Airport Businessman (uncredited)
Elli	...	Rabbi Elli (uncredited)
Pennie-Marie Hawkins	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Dave Krieger	...	Batman (uncredited)
Ralph H. Meyer	...	Airport Businessman (uncredited)
Barack Obama	...	Himself (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jamie Oliver	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sarah Palin	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mark C. Schwarz	...	Funeral Atendee (uncredited)
Joseph Smith	...	Club Security (uncredited)

Directed by
Paolo Sorrentino

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Umberto Contarello		screenplay
Paolo Sorrentino		screenplay

Produced by
Ronald M. Bozman	....	executive producer
Carlotta Calori	....	associate producer
Francesca Cima	....	producer
Nicola Giuliano	....	producer
Ed Guiney	....	co-producer
Andrew Lowe	....	co-producer
Stefano Massenzi	....	associate producer
Andrea Occhipinti	....	producer
Viola Prestieri	....	executive producer
Laurent Pétin	....	co-producer
Michèle Pétin	....	co-producer
Mario Spedaletti	....	producer
Louis Tisné	....	associate producer

Original Music by
David Byrne
Will Oldham

Cinematography by
Luca Bigazzi

Film Editing by
Cristiano Travaglioli

Casting by
Maureen Hughes
Carrie Ray
Laura Rosenthal

Production Design by
Stefania Cella

Art Direction by
dooner
Sarah Kingston		(set decorator: Ireland)

Set Decoration by
Roya Parivar

Costume Design by
Karen Patch

Makeup Department
Luisa Abel	....	makeup department head
Eileen Buggy	....	key hair stylist
Clifton Chippewa	....	hair stylist
Elizabeth Cortez	....	additional hairstylist
Amber Crowe	....	additional makeup artist
Lora Gianino	....	additional hair stylist
Jessica Y. Hernandez	....	additional makeup artist
Renate Leuschner	....	wig maker
Kim Santantonio	....	head of hair department
Diana Sikes	....	key hair stylist: New York
Jay Wejebe	....	key makeup artist
Jose Zamora	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Gennaro Formisano	....	production manager
Corey Sklov	....	production supervisor
Haley Sweet	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Davide Bertoni	....	first assistant director
Brinton Bryan	....	key second assistant director
Daisy Cummins	....	second assistant director: Ireland
Lyndzi Doyle	....	daily assistant director
Conor Flannery	....	trainee assistant director
Dave Halls	....	second assistant director: US
Anna Harrison	....	third assistant director: Ireland
Nicola Long	....	trainee assistant director: Ireland
Kevin O'Lution	....	trainee assistant director: Ireland
Sonja Otto	....	trainee assistant director
Johnathon Quinlan	....	trainee assistant director
Kamen Velkovsky	....	second assistant director: New York
Anne Warter	....	crowd co-ordinator

Art Department
Noah Bradley	....	construction coordinator
David Brayman	....	carpenter
Jon Bush	....	art department coordinator
Sage Emmett Connell	....	set dresser
Benjamin Dell	....	art department production assistant
Brian DeNike	....	greensman
Joe Freeman	....	prop maker
Kemper Harris	....	on-set dresser
Casey Kaufman	....	set dec buyer
Rene Knol	....	dressing props
Adrian Lobato	....	greensman
David Lombard	....	leadman
Nicky MacManus	....	construction manager
William Maloney	....	key scenic artist
Florencia Martin	....	buyer
Heidi Mayfield	....	set decoration buyer
Eric P. Paczkowski	....	props
Paul Peabody	....	construction coordinator
Gay Perello	....	property master
Wilhelm Pfau	....	set decoration buyer
Christina Pizzala	....	set painter
Kenneth Stanley	....	construction foreman
Erik Torrez	....	set dresser: New Mexico
Julie Witherington	....	assistant prop master

Sound Department
Dave Ashton	....	dialogue editor
Ron Ayers	....	sound utility
Ruben Aguirre Barba	....	sound effects editor
Jason Patrick Collins	....	utility sound technician: NM
Ray Cross	....	sound mixer: Ireland
Adam Daniel	....	sound re-recording mixer
Graham Daniel	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Sirma Dogan	....	sound editorial assistant
Lucas Hansen	....	foley artist
Eilam Hoffman	....	dialogue editor
Eilam Hoffman	....	sound effects editor
Gareth Rhys Jones	....	foley artist
Serkan Koseoglu	....	foley recordist
Andrea Kurpjel	....	sound facility manager
Srdjan Kurpjel	....	sound designer
Srdjan Kurpjel	....	sound re-recording mixer
Srdjan Kurpjel	....	supervising sound editor
Nikola Medic	....	sound effects assistant
Beauxregard Neylon	....	adr mixer
William Sarokin	....	sound mixer: US
Ric Schnupp	....	adr recordist
Milos Stojanovic	....	sound editor
Danton Tanimura	....	sound effects editor
Danton Tanimura	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Tirone	....	adr recordist
Burak Topalakci	....	sound effects editor
Sacha Walker	....	sound effects editor
Phillip Whiteman	....	foley artist
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Nicholas Leone	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Jacob Stros	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
David Tyrrell	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Robert Tyrrell	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Russell Tyrrell	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Luca Della Grotta	....	digital artist: Chromatica
Fabio Luongo	....	senior compositor: Visualogie
Francesco Antonio Maggi	....	digital compositor
Stefano Marinoni	....	visual effects supervisor
Rodolfo Migliari	....	visual effects supervisor: Chromatica
Federica Nisi	....	visual effects coordinator
Miriam Pavese	....	digital compositor: Chromatica
Paola Trisoglio	....	visual effects producer
Stefano Valente	....	digital compositor: Chromatica

Stunts
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Hart	....	stunt coordinator
Peter Malota	....	stunt coordinator
Ian Mclaughlin	....	stunt performer
Joe Pepper	....	stunt driver
Mam Smith	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Abeyta	....	electrician
Michael Alba	....	"b" camera operator/steadicam
K.C. Bartos	....	electrician
Alan Blagg	....	key grip: New York
Salvatore Bognanni	....	focus puller
Alessandro Brambilla	....	steadicam operator
Will Brick	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
James Frank Brown	....	key video assist operator
Paolo Cafiero	....	assistant camera
Josh Ficken	....	grip
Jule Fontana	....	camera loader
David Grennan	....	b-camera first assistant
Patrick R. Heffernan	....	key grip
Juergen Heinemann	....	grip
Rebecca Heller	....	camera loader
Andrew Hoehn Jr.	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Ciaran Kavanagh	....	b camera operator
Jon Lindsay	....	second assistant "a" camera
Patriq Luo	....	best boy electric
Patrizio Marra	....	key grip
Chris McLeod	....	lighting technician
Dan Mikulski	....	lighting technician
Andrew O'Reilly	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Rory O'Riordan	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Matt Poertner	....	additional lighting technician
Patrick Redmond	....	still photographer: Ireland
Scott Satterfield	....	best boy grip
Alessandro Saulini	....	gaffer
Bruce Sharp	....	gaffer
Corey Weintraub	....	second assistant camera
Cody West	....	grip
Scott Wetzel	....	video assist
Mark N. Woods	....	technocrane operator
Chuck Zlotnick	....	still photographer
Daniel Sorin Balteanu	....	video assist (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jodi Angstreich	....	casting associate
Marie A. Kohl	....	casting associate
Lorrie Latham	....	extras casting
Heather Reidenbach	....	extras casting: New York
Kathy Remski	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jennifer Antony	....	assistant costume designer
Kate Bennett	....	set costumer
Brittany Dier	....	costumer
Suzy Freeman	....	costume supervisor
Heidi Higginbotham	....	costume supervisor
Mary Kasprzak	....	costume production assistant
Jill Rakovitis	....	costume assistant
Cassandra Steyn-Taylor	....	set costumer
Susan Strubel	....	key set costumer
Sabra Temple	....	costumer
Bernadine Vida	....	costumer/stitcher
Teri Wertman	....	costumer
Zuzana Zilkova	....	wardrobe trainee
Gillian Zwick	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Victoria Anderson	....	colorist assistant
Eleonora Cao	....	assistant editor
Sarah McTeigue	....	first assistant editor

Transportation Department
Kari Bernhardt	....	driver
James A Brandon	....	driver: honeywagon
Geno Hart	....	transportation coordinator: US
Kirk Huston	....	transportation co-captain
David B. Jackson	....	driver
Marc Lipman	....	driver
Glen Mathias	....	transportation captain
Mitchell J. Neri	....	driver
David Schmidt	....	transportation captain
Lucas Stein	....	driver
David Sullivan	....	driver: cast, Ireland
Jay E. Vigil	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Chet Badalato	....	assistant for sean penn
Steve Berman	....	completion bond
Jason Bonnell	....	assistant location manager
Kathleen Breton-Collier	....	set teacher
Stiv Brown	....	production assistant
Lava Buckley	....	assistant to cast
Renee Burke	....	script supervisor: Ireland
Cindy Chu	....	office production assistant
Cindy Chu	....	production secretary
Sam Day	....	additional production assistant: New York
Sarah DeBoer	....	additional set production assistant
Ideene Dehdashti	....	production assistant
Leigh Dillon	....	dialect coach
Sile Dorney	....	production accountant: Ireland
Amy Eldridge	....	production accountant: New Mexico
Oscar J. Flores	....	assistant production coordinator
Eric Fogle	....	location assistant
Anthony Foster	....	assistant accountant
Jessica Franks	....	cast coordinator
Alina Gatti	....	set production assistant
Rich Gill	....	production assistant
Adrienne L. Graves	....	first assistant accountant: New Mexico
Chancler Haynes	....	production assistant
Christopher Hosey	....	location scout
Vickie M. Hsieh	....	production coordinator
Flower Hulihan	....	assistant production office coordinator: New Mexico
Allison Jandreau-Heil	....	key craft service
Mindy Jones	....	key assistant location manager
Shad Kanyak	....	additional production assistant: Michigan
Dave Krieger	....	location manager
Ryan Lavalette	....	production assistant
John Lucas	....	location scout
Connie Mangilin	....	second second assistant accountant
Ashley Michelle Marsh	....	accounting clerk
Crystal McAlerney	....	production coordinator: New Mexico
Piero Messina	....	assistant to director
Jordan Kenneth Messing	....	additional set production assistant
Jordan Kenneth Messing	....	office production assistant
Tom Moisides	....	location scout
Lorenzo Moneta	....	title designer
Meegan Neeb	....	production supervisor: New York
Stuart Nicolai	....	location manager: new york
Laura Pena	....	additional production secretary
Wayne Petrucelli	....	security coordinator new york
Ryan J. Pezdirc	....	set production assistant: New Mexico unit
Luke V. Randall	....	production assistant
Sahir Rashid	....	set production assistant
Brandon Ripley	....	production assistant
Matthew Roper	....	security
Jan Rudolph	....	script supervisor
Gregorio Sassoli	....	assistant to director
Luke Tomalin Sherman	....	key set production assistant: NY unit
Ian Simon	....	key set production assistant
Claire Skowronek	....	additional cast coordinator
Boutsikaris. Spike	....	key craft service: Michigan
Scott Sullens	....	assistant production coordinator: new york unit
Tessie Tan	....	payroll accountant
Kia W. Thompson	....	office production assistant: new york
Matthew Traylor	....	background production assistant
Marilou Vetter	....	second assistant accountant: NY crew
Raffaello Vignoli	....	assistant to producers
Noelle Volpintesta	....	assistant: head of physical production: Pathé
Zach Warsavage	....	production assistant: New York
Jason Wetter	....	assistant location manager
Scott Wintner	....	location liaison
Jennifer K. Zapinski	....	assistant location manager

Production Companies

• Indigo Film
• Lucky Red
• Medusa Film
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• ARP Sélection (co-production)
• Element Pictures (co-production)
• Intesa San Paolo (in association with)
• Pathé (in association with)
• Irish Film Board (support)
• Section 481 (support)
• Eurimages Council of Europe (support)
• Programme MEDIA de l'Union Européenne (support)
• Sky (in collaboration with)
• Canal+ (in collaboration with)
• CinéCinéma (in collaboration with)
• France Télévision (in collaboration with)

Distributors

• Trinity Filmed Entertainment (2012) (UK) (theatrical)
• ARP Sélection (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (2012) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Camilla Internusa PT (2011) (Indonesia) (theatrical)
• Cetera International (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2012) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2012) (Luxembourg) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Delphi Filmverleih Produktion (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Element Pictures (2011) (Ireland) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2011) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2012) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Hopscotch Entertainment (2011) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Hopscotch Productions (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• ITI Cinema (2012) (Poland) (theatrical)
• M Pictures (2011) (Thailand) (theatrical)
• Medusa Distribuzione (2011) (Italy) (theatrical)
• MegaCom Film (MCF) (2011) (Montenegro) (theatrical)
• MegaCom Film (MCF) (2011) (Serbia) (theatrical)
• Noble Entertainment (2012) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Nu Metro Cinemas (2011) (South Africa) (theatrical)
• Rosebud (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Star Sands (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Tiglon (2012) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• DCM Film Distribution (2011) (Germany) (all media)
• Midget Entertainment (2011) (Denmark) (all media)
• Pris Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Tyrrell FX & Rentals

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Film Production Capital  tax credit financing
• Hollywood Rentals Productions Services  grip and lighting equipment
• Kahn & Company  auditor
• Lowing Light & Grip  expendables
• Mid America Cine Support  camera dollies
• Movie Movers  office trailer
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Movie Movers  transportation
• Road Rebel  production travel
• Zound  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Un lugar donde quedarse" - Colombia (imdb display title), Spain (imdb display title)
"Aqui é o Meu Lugar" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"Cheyenne - This Must Be the Place" - Germany (imdb display title)
"Ekei pou htypa i kardia mou" - Greece (imdb display title)
"Este é o Meu Lugar" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Olmak Istedigim Yer" - Turkey (Turkish title) (imdb display title)
"Wszystkie odloty Cheyenne'a" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Ze bevadai ha'makom" - Israel (Hebrew title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Italy | France | Ireland

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Italy:T | Germany:o.Al. | South Korea:12 | Ireland:15A | Sweden:11 | Japan:G | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Indigo Film

Trivia:

'This Must Be the Place' was originally the title for Sam Mendes summer comedy Away We Go (2009).

Quotes:

Desmond:Why isn't there any water in your pool?
Cheyenne:I don't know... No one ever filled it.

Movie Connections:

References Stop Making Sense (1984)

Soundtrack:

Spiegel Im Spiegel

Charming and Funny

What happens when you take Sean Penn, dress him up like an aging 80′s rocker, and send him on a cross-country trip to hunt a Nazi? The answer to that question lies in the beautifully bizarre and hilarious film This Must Be the Place. Although it certainly won't be for everyone, this wonderfully shot and uniquely charming story provides not only a strong plot, but also one of Sean Penn's best performances on screen. To explain this film to someone after seeing it, may prove to be difficult. The stripped down synopsis would describe the film as a road trip story about an aging rock star who's going through a mid-life crisis, only to find out his father has died. As a result, he embarks on a quest to kill the Nazi that held his father captive during the holocaust, as this was his father's main goal in life. On his journey he meets some interesting and enlightening characters, and as the road takes him on some strange paths, he finds something more substantial than just an old Nazi.

The film stars Sean Penn in the lead as Cheyenne, a soft-spoken 50-year-old who bears an odd resemblance to The Cure's Robert Smith. In fact, Penn's character's real name in the film is John Smith. This role once again proves that Penn can completely transform himself into the character he is given with little to no effort. Although it is mainly a comedic performance, he has no problem seamlessly transitioning into serious mode and delivering some powerfully heartfelt lines. Make no mistake about it, this film does a lot of things right, but it's Penn's performance that pushes it over the top.

Francis McDormand also provides a stellar performance, playing Cheyenne's loving wife of 35 years, Jane. It's clear from the start of the film that she is his rock, and McDormand seems to know exactly how to make the audience love her character. Even though the two live in an enormous mansion and have millions of dollars, she still works as a volunteer fire fighter. This relates to another one of the films strengths. It has likable, and fully developed characters.

Nearly all the characters in the film have this likable charm about them that give the film a refreshing glow. Normally, if you see a film about a rock star, the protagonist is often times a sleaze, but that simply isn't the case in this film. Everyone has enough personality and quirkiness to them, that you will find yourself not hating a single character. Except maybe for the Nazi, but hey, he's a Nazi, there's not a lot you can do about that.

One of my only criticisms with the film, is an unnecessary scene featuring David Byrne from The Talking Heads in which the film sort of inexplicably turns into a music video. Fortunately, I'm a fan of the song, so it didn't bother me too much, but it certainly didn't need to be there.

This is most certainly a love it or hate it film. The mixture of slightly peculiar humor and seriousness may discriminate against the common movie-goer, and Penn's Cheyenne could be seen as sweet and reserved, or just annoying. The trick to this film is to go into it knowing that it is slightly odd, and hopefully you'll walk out of it with an appreciation for all that it is.

Adam FilmPulse.net