Ao, le dernier Néandertal (2010)

Director:

Jacques Malaterre

Writers:

Michel Fessler (scenario & adaptation)
Philippe Isard (scenario & adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

1 April 2010 (Russia)

Genre:

History

Plot:

When his clan, including his wife and baby girl Néa, are massacred, Ao, a desperate Neandertal man,...

Cast

Agie	...	L'ourse Blanche
Helmi Dridi	...	Aguk
Ilian Ivanov	...	Ao - à neuf ans
Vesela Kazakova	...	Unak
Sara Malaterre	...	Wana - la fille d'Ao et d'Aki à quatre ans
Craig Morris	...	Boorh - un membre du clan d'Ao / Itkio
Aruna Shields	...	Aki
Simon Paul Sutton	...	Ao - un Néandertalien dont le clan a été massacré
Yavor Veselinov	...	Aka

Directed by
Jacques Malaterre

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michel Fessler		scenario & adaptation
Philippe Isard		scenario & adaptation
Marc Klapczynski		book "Ao, l'homme ancien"
Jacques Malaterre		scenario & adaptation

Produced by
Yves Marmion	....	producer
Patrick Sandrin	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Armand Amar

Cinematography by
Sabine Lancelin

Film Editing by
Jennifer Augé

Production Design by
Christian Marti

Set Decoration by
Atanas Apostolov

Costume Design by
Jean-Daniel Vuillermoz

Makeup Department
Bérangère Cortaix	....	special makeup effects artist
Erik Gosselin	....	special makeup effects artist
Lionel Le	....	special makeup effects artist
Jacques-Olivier Molon	....	special makeup effects artist
Pierre Olivier Persin	....	special makeup effects artist
Aurélie Rameau	....	makeup artist
Yana Stoyanova	....	special makeup effects artist: Bulgaria
Kathy Tse	....	special makeup effects artist
Greta Velikova	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jacques Arhex	....	production manager
Abraham Goldblat	....	post-production supervisor
Varujan Gumusel	....	post-production manager
Cécile Navarro	....	assistant unit manager
Frédéric Sauvagnac	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
François Chaillou	....	first assistant director
Eric Pujol	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Atanas Apostolov	....	assistant props on set
Lilith Bekmezian	....	assistant art director
Atanas Cherkezov	....	set dresser
Maria Doicheva	....	painter
Gerard Drolon	....	first assistant art director (2009)
Benoît Herlin	....	property master
Frank Pitussi	....	property master

Sound Department
Nicolas Becker	....	foley artist
Thomas Gauder	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pierre-Yves Lavoué	....	sound mixer
Jean-Luc Verdier	....	sound
Benjamin Viau	....	sound recordist
Olivier Walczak	....	supervising sound editor
Sébastien Wera	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Philippe Hubin	....	special effects
Adrien Morot	....	department head
Rumen Stoychev	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Jerome Auliac	....	digital compositor
Alain Bignet	....	digital compositor
Lucie Bories	....	digital compositor
Emilien Breuillier	....	visual effects (as Breuillier Emilien)
Eric Carme	....	visual effects artist
Guillaume Carniato	....	digital compositor
Anthony Charbonnier	....	digital compositor
Thierry Delobel	....	visual effects supervisor
Pierre Genin	....	visual effects
Pierre Gosset	....	senior compositor
David Gourmaud	....	visual effects editor
Aurélien Grand	....	retouch and restoration
Thibaut Granier	....	visual effects
Aurelie Lajoux	....	senior compositor
Thomas Lefebvre	....	digital compositor
Jean-Francois Michelas	....	digital compositor
Fredrik Monteil	....	digital compositor
Vincent Papaix	....	digital compositor: Duran Duboi
Joel Pinto	....	digital compositor
Elisa Pretta	....	digital compositor
Julien Record	....	digital compositor
Nicolas Rigaud	....	lead compositing artist
Laurent Ripoll	....	visual effects editor
Aurore Rousset	....	animator
Niranjan Siva	....	digital compositor
Rossi Sébastien	....	visual effects artist
Christian Tomikowski	....	digital compositor
Marion Voignier	....	digital compositor
Virginie Wintrebert	....	visual effects coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
David Camus	....	grip
Benoit Dentan	....	aerial camera operator
Arnaud Gervet	....	second assistant camera
Mathieu Giombini	....	camera operator
Hristo Idakiev	....	electrician
Océane Lavergne	....	additional focus puller
Maud Lemaistre	....	b camera: first assistant
Rémi Mestre	....	second assistant camera
Patrick Plaize	....	still photographer
Philippe Ramdane	....	first assistant camera
Frédéric Serve	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Marc Wolff	....	camera pilot

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Gelinova	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Arnaud Caréo	....	on-line editor
Christian Dutac	....	color timer
Natacha Louis	....	colorist
Fabien Napoli	....	colorist: dailies

Music Department
Camille Adrien	....	orchestrator
Elise Luguern	....	music supervisor
Sylvain Morizet	....	arranger
Sylvain Morizet	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Vincent Allard	....	location manager: summer
Louise Arhex	....	script supervisor
Sandra Cornevaux	....	press attache
Claude Dallet	....	production administrator
Olga Gorvat	....	location manager: Ukraine
Marie Malaterre	....	production secretary
Gianni Manno	....	titles designer
Marylène Patou-Mathis	....	technical adviser
Thomas Philip	....	location manager
Alexandra Schamis	....	press attache

Production Companies

• UGC YM
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Cofinova 6 (in association with)
• Sofica UGC 1 (in association with)
• Procirep (participation)
• Angoa-Agicoa (participation)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)
• France Télévision (participation)

Distributors

• Central Partnership Ukraine (2010) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (????) (Estonia) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2010) (Russia) (theatrical)
• J-Bics Film Company (????) (Thailand) (theatrical)
• TF1 International (2010) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• UGC Distribution (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• AS Communication  publicity
• Aerial Camera Systems  helicopter gyrostabilized camera system
• Cinéstéréo  sound transfer
• City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra
• Kodak  film stock

Also Known As:

"Ao - Ostatni Neandertalczyk" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Ao, der letzte Neandertaler" - Germany (DVD title)
"O teleftaios progonos" - Greece (DVD title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

France

Language:

None | French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Australia:MA15+

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

UGC YM

Trivia:

French visa # 122207.

When Ao meets Aki or the oldest romantic comedy ever told

Jacques Malaterre, a maker of TV fiction (mainly TV films and series episodes), discovered prehistory and more generally speaking - the history of man - when he was chosen to direct the highly successful documentary "L'odyssée de l'espèce" (2003). He was so captivated by the matter he was assigned to explore that he gradually became a specialist of the subject himself. With the help of famed paleoanthropologist Yves Coppens as a co-writer and scientific adviser he also directed "Homo Sapiens" (2005) and "Le sacre de l'homme" (2009). So it is hardly surprising to see him further explore his favorite subject in a new work, the difference this time being that he has chosen the big screen to express himself in preference to television.

"Ao, le dernier Neandertal", which illustrates the thesis (confirmed by recent discoveries based on DNA analysis) that some Neandertal and Homo Sapiens had offspring together) undoubtedly benefits from this change of scope, which does not mean that it is the best in Malaterre's four-installment saga. Very spectacular indeed, the film has epic qualities when it comes to Ao's struggle for survival in all weather conditions, aesthetic assets when it describes the beauty and cruelty of nature of wild life. And actor Simon Paul Sutton is very believable as Ao, the desperate creature who sees all the members of his clan die around him, managing to express his feelings mostly through looks, grunts and body language. Which is some kind of a feat. Last but not least is the creation of a consistent specific language (that the viewer does not understand with the exception of one or two words). Too bad then that Malaterre resorted to a commentary in modern language to explain exactly what happens. Jean-Jacques Annaud had been able to do without such an expedient in his amazing "Guerre du feu".

On the other hand, for all the modernity of its scientific approach, the film is nothing else but a boy meets girl story, complete with the usual clichés: boy and girl don't get on/ love is born/ and they live happily ever after. Worse, the female lead, Aruna Shields, is too pretty to be true. Luckily, her acting is good, which partly compensates for the initial mistake, but you need a good dose of suspension of disbelief to really come into this aspect of the story.

Despite this weak point, "Ao" remains worth watching. Even if a few details leave to be desired, you really feel you are living a long long time ago constantly asking yourself whether YOU could have survived in such a hostile environment. This is enough to justify the price of your movie ticket, I think.