Le moine (2011)

Director:

Dominik Moll

Writers:

Matthew Lewis (novel)
Dominik Moll (screenplay) (adaptation) (dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

13 July 2011 (Belgium)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Madrid, in the seventeenth century. Abandoned at the doorstep of a monastery, Ambrosio has been brought up by the Capucin Friars...

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Gothic | Male Frontal Nudity | Literary Adaptation | Based On Book

Cast

Vincent Cassel	...	Capucin Ambrosio
Déborah François	...	Valerio
Joséphine Japy	...	Antonia
Sergi López	...	Le débauché
Catherine Mouchet	...	Elvire
Jordi Dauder	...	Père Miguel
Geraldine Chaplin	...	L'abbesse
Roxane Duran	...	Soeur Agnès
Frédéric Noaille	...	Lorenzo
Javivi	...	Frère Andrés (as Javivi Gil Valle)
Martine Vandeville	...	Leonella
Pierre-Félix Gravière	...	Frère Iago
Serge Feuillard	...	Le tuteur
Ernst Umhauer	...	Le novice
Jean-Francois Vendroux	...	L'homme au bébé (as Jean-François Vendroux)
Juliette Savary	...	Une soeur bavarde
Pascal Loison	...	Le possédé
Gabriel Ignacio	...	Le procureur
Jean-Charles Dumay	...	Le juge
Ana Pérez Plasencia	...	La servante
María Begoña Mancho	...	Soeur Ursule
Jean-Marc Galluis	...	Partégueur
Rosa María Rodríguez	...	Elvire jeune
Francisco Tomás	...	Musicien 1
Guillem Ballart	...	Musicien 2
Nil Ripoll Esteban	...	L'enfant Mateo
Jean-Claude Dauphin	...	Narrateur (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pere Vall

Directed by
Dominik Moll

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Matthew Lewis		novel (as Matthew G. Lewis)
Dominik Moll		screenplay (adaptation) (dialogue)
Anne-Louise Trividic		screenplay (adaptation) (dialogue)

Produced by
Pilar Benito	....	executive producer
Jordi Berenguer	....	line producer
Ricardo Fernández-Deu	....	co-producer (as Ricardo Fernandez Déu)
Álvaro Longoria	....	executive producer
Jordi Muñoz	....	assistant producer
Stéphane Riga	....	line producer
Michel Saint-Jean	....	producer

Original Music by
Alberto Iglesias

Cinematography by
Patrick Blossier

Film Editing by
François Gédigier
Sylvie Lager

Casting by
Emmanuelle Prévost

Production Design by
Antxón Gómez

Art Direction by
María Clara Notari

Costume Design by
Bina Daigeler

Makeup Department
Cyril Hipaux	....	special makeup effects artist
Susi León	....	additional makeup artist
Kaatje Van Damme	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Jordi Abarca Taurà	....	unit production manager
Jordi Berenguer	....	production manager
Charles Besnard	....	unit production manager
Ivan Carrero	....	assistant production manager
Audrey Legendre	....	assistant unit manager
Stéphane Riga	....	production manager
Guadalupe Balaguer Trelles	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christian Alzieu	....	second assistant director
Adela Batiste	....	third assistant director
Esther Fouchard	....	third assistant director
Ángel Lafuente	....	second assistant director
Silvia Martínez	....	third assistant director
Pau Teixidor	....	third assistant director
Thierry Verrier	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Chan Canelo	....	set dresser
Joxean Goya	....	set dresser
Alejandro Mackay	....	stand-by props
Maite Marti	....	key painter: Spain
Eva Mazo	....	production buyer

Sound Department
Olivier Dô Hùu	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matthieu Fichet	....	assistant sound editor
Gérard Hardy	....	sound editor
Lionel Le Bras	....	boom operator
Jonathan Martins	....	assistant re-recording mixer
François Maurel	....	sound
Fred Mays	....	post-synchronisation
Fred Messa	....	boom operator

Visual Effects by
Jerome Fournier	....	concept artist

Stunts
Jérôme Gaspard	....	stunt coordinator
Diego Herberg	....	stunt rider

Camera and Electrical Department
Guillaume Ader	....	electrician
Eric Blanckaert	....	first assistant camera
Manel Capdevila	....	grip
Michael Crotto	....	still photographer
Maéva Drecq	....	second assistant camera
Elías Fernández Salomón	....	additional electrician
Fric López Verdeguer	....	grip
Laura Martínez	....	grip
Roger Martínez	....	additional first assistant camera
Christian Metz	....	grip
Ana Portela Rodríguez	....	electrician: additional
Núria Pérez	....	video assist
Quimet Sole	....	generator operator electrician
Edgar Solé	....	electrician
Yves Vandersmissen	....	key grip
François-Xavier Walter	....	additional grip

Casting Department
Juan Irache	....	extras casting assistant
Pablo Sola	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Paula Chiappetta	....	additional wardrobe
Ana Cuerda	....	key assistant costume designer
Leticia Palomares	....	costume assistant
Nuria Pascual-Andujar	....	costumer: dailies
Pepo Ruiz Dorado	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Clément Guégan	....	digital conformation
Sylvie Lager	....	assistant editor
Raymond Terrentin	....	colorist
Philippe Tourret	....	digital intermediate coordinator

Music Department
Chris Clad	....	violin
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Peter Lale	....	musician: first alto
Everton Nelson	....	musician: first violin

Other crew
Adela Batiste	....	stand-in
Agustin Bidard	....	stand-in: Vincent Cassel
Eder García Camuera	....	production runner
Rachel Corlet-Soulier	....	script supervisor
Jordi Cots	....	production coordinator
Pierre de Parscau	....	location scout
Pascale Dillemann	....	communications department
Valérie Dompnier	....	production coordinator
Eider Galán	....	producer: additional support
Cristóbal García	....	business affairs
Mayi Gutiérrez Cobo	....	press and festival coordinator
Mayi Gutiérrez Cobo	....	production secretary
Marc Hulsbus	....	production accountant
Jérôme Jouneaux	....	press attache
Cédric Landemaine	....	press attache
Alex Le Gal	....	location manager
Aleix Lladó	....	production assistant
Anna Maluenda	....	set production assistant
Manel Manteca	....	location scout (as Manel Manteca-Denci)
Felipe Salazar	....	assistant location manager
Lydia Tarrega	....	production secretary
Sophie Timbal	....	production accountant
Mounia Wissinger	....	press attache

Thanks
Marie Deroudille	....	thanks
Gilles Marchand	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Diaphana Films
• Morena Films (co-production)
• El Monje La Pelicula AIE (co-production)
• Estrategia Audiovisual (co-production)
• France 3 Cinéma (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• France Télévision (participation)
• CinéCinéma (participation)
• Televisió de Catalunya (TV3) (participation)
• Coficup (in association with)
• Backup Films (funding)
• Soficinéma 6 (in association with)
• Banque Postale Image 4 (in association with)
• Uni Étoile 8 (in association with)
• A Plus Image 2 (in association with)
• Eurimages (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Région Languedoc-Roussillon (participation)
• Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) (participation)
• Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) (participation)
• Memento Films International (participation) (as MFI)
• 120 Films (participation)
• Navarra Film Commission (support)

Distributors

• ATO Pictures (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alcine Terran (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distributors (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Lumière Productie (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Praesens-Film (2011) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Vertice Cine (2011) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Hollywood Entertainment (2012) (Greece) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Mac Guff Ligne (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Arriflex  camera equipment provided by
• Kodak  film stock
• Neuflize OBC  bank

Also Known As:

"El monje" - Spain (imdb display title), Spain (Castilian title) (imdb display title)
"The Monk" - International (English title) (imdb display title)
"Le moine" - Belgium (French title) (imdb display title), Luxembourg (French title) (imdb display title)
"O Monge" - Brazil (imdb display title), Portugal (imdb display title)
"O kalogeros" - Greece (imdb display title)
"Seytanin Yüzü" - Turkey (Turkish title) (festival title)
"Vienuolis" - Lithuania (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality, brief graphic nudity and violent images

Runtime:

France:101 min

Country:

Spain | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | France:U | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:15A | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Aiguamúrcia, Tarragona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Diaphana Films

Trivia:

French visa # 120426 delivered on 9-6-2011.

Movie Connections:

Version of Le moine (1972)

Re-edit it, please…

The book is a very thick one offering myriad materials, why does it turn out to be like a milk-and-water man? Has D. Moll shot any pilot footage for potential audience to comment? While working on this project, did he still remember MG Lewis's "The Monk" was among the very first Gothic novels in the history of the western literature? Mystery, darkness, suspense are necessary elements, however, the lack of the intensity and the excitement which should be generated by these three makes it less bright. The best treatment or suspense I find thus far is the very slow revelation of the relationship between Ambrosio and Antonia.

Truly, all ingredients are ready: beautiful, poetic visuals, high quality music score, good acting. It is so promising to be more powerful than J-J Annaud's "The name of the rose"! Only, seriously, truly, absolutely… re-editing is definitely imperative. Just a couple of revisions may make the work far much better: 1) more on Valerio and Le débauché for they prove Ambrosio's pride to be wrong, 2) score with Bach's St Matthew Passion and St John Passion or other church music of his on the shots of Frère Iago being struck by a heavy stony object from the façade, 3) adjust the lighting, use more candle light to reflect the darkness to create suspense and mysterious ambiance (I guess that something can be done on the footage/film), 4) re-arrange the storyline order, for example, right at the beginning, put the crow-pecking on the baby and the dead body of Ambrosio together to rouse people's curiosity, 5) more on his demure sermons to exhibit his hypocrisy, 6) close-up shots of Ambrosio's face while he is on the way to drug and rape Antonia, and a couple of other revisions...

While leaving the cinema house, my only comment: the editor is too lazy or busy to think. I for sure will be 100% happy to see the re-edited version if there will be one.