Same Old Song (French: On connaît la chanson) is a 1997 French comedy-drama film. It was directed by Alain Resnais, and written by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri. Jaoui and Bacri also starred in the film with Sabine Azéma, Lambert Wilson, André Dussollier and Pierre Arditi.
| Same Old Song | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Alain Resnais |
| Written by | Agnès Jaoui Jean-Pierre Bacri |
| Produced by | Bruno Pésery |
| Starring | Agnès Jaoui Jean-Pierre Bacri |
| Cinematography | Renato Berta |
| Edited by | Hervé de Luze |
| Music by | Henri Christiné Bruno Fontaine |
| Distributed by | AMLF |
Release date |
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Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $7.9 million |
| Box office | $39 million[1] |
Plot
editOdile (Azéma), a business executive, is married to weak, furtive Claude (Arditi). In the past Odile was close to successful businessman Nicolas (Bacri), now married with kids and returning to Paris after an eight-year absence. She is looking for a new, bigger apartment from estate agent Marc (Wilson). Her younger sister Camille (Jaoui), has just completed her doctoral thesis in history and is a Paris tour guide. Simon (Dussollier) is a regular on Camille's tours because he's attracted to her, although he claims to be researching his historical radio dramas. Camille has fallen for Marc, and they begin an affair. Nicolas is also looking for an apartment, since he hopes to eventually have his family join him in Paris.
The most original feature of this "musical" is that characters break into songs as sung by the original artists,[2] i.e. depending on the circumstances, a female character may all of a sudden start singing in a male voice and vice versa. The judicious choice of songs and variety of styles make for some very funny surprises, considering the complete and voluntary absence of transitions between the talking and singing. The film's debt to Dennis Potter is acknowledged with a dedication in the opening credits.
Cast
edit- Pierre Arditi as Claude Lalande
- Sabine Azéma as Odile Lalande, Claude's wife
- Jean-Pierre Bacri as Nicolas
- André Dussollier as Simon
- Agnès Jaoui as Camille, Odile's younger sister
- Lambert Wilson as Marc Duveyrier, Simon's boss
- Jane Birkin as Jane, the wife of Nicolas
- Françoise Bertin as Little Lady on Tour
- Jean-Paul Roussillon as the father of Odile and Camille
- Jean-Pierre Darroussin as the man with the cheque
- Claire Nadeau and Frédérique Cantrel as Female Guest
Songs
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Production
editFilming began on 6 January 1997.
Accolades
editThe film won the César Award for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Writing, Best Editing and Best Sound in 1998. It won the Louis Delluc Prize in 1997. At the 48th Berlin International Film Festival in 1998, Resnais won the Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution.[3]
Box office
editThe film opened in France the same week as Alien Resurrection, opening on 158 screens and grossing 30.3 million French Francs ($5.3 million) for the week, compared to 38.9 million French Francs for Alien Resurrection from 507 screens, and finishing in second place at the French box office.[4] It went on to gross $39 million.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b JP. "On connaît la chanson (1997)- JPBox-Office". Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ "Wettbewerb/In Competition". Moving Pictures, Berlinale Extra. Berlin. 11–22 February 1998. p. 30.
- ^ "Berlinale - Archive - Awards". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
- ^ "France Top 15". Screen International. 28 November 1997. p. 38.