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The Witnesses [2007] [DVD]
 
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The Witnesses [2007] [DVD]

DVD ~ Emmanuelle Beart
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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  • This item: The Witnesses [2007] [DVD] DVD ~ Emmanuelle Beart

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Product details

  • Actors: Emmanuelle Beart, Johan Libereau, Michel Blanc, Sami Bouajila, Julie Depardieu
  • Directors: Andre Techine
  • Format: Subtitled, PAL
  • Language French
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Artificial Eye
  • DVD Release Date: 25 Feb 2008
  • Run Time: 112 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000Z9ED0E
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 15,406 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Product Description

This moving and powerful drama from the acclaimed director of 'Alice and Martin' and 'Strayed' follows the lives of a group of friends and lovers in 1980s France. Handsome young Manu (Johan Libérau) arrives in Paris where he shares a cheap hotel room with his sister (Julie Depardieu). He soon strikes up a platonic friendship with fifty-something Adrien (Michel Blanc) who introduces Manu to his friends Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart) and her partner Mehdi (Sami Bouajila). Unexpectedly, sparks fly between Manu and Mehdi and the two embark upon a secret and passionate affair that will ultimately change everybody's lives. Brilliantly evoking the period and featuring some exceptional performances, André Techiné's remarkable film confirms his place as one of contemporary French cinema's finest directors.


Synopsis

Director Andre Techine's film charts the lives and loves of a group of friends in 80s' France. When the young, handsome Manu arrives at a low rent Parisian hotel with his sister, he soon strikes up a friendship With Adrien, who in turn, introduces Manu to his pals, Sarah and Mehdi. Manu and Mehdi are instantly attracted to one another, and the pair soon embark upon a covert and deeply passionate affair... an affair that will changes the lives of this circle of friends forever.

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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 (1)
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 (2)
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars masterful, 23 Nov 2008
By G. V. Cherian "gv_cherian" (U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
For some reason Andre Techine gets overlooked when it comes to column interest and main headline film reviews in magazines and newspapers these days. I was not even aware if this film ever got a theatrical release in the UK or not. Its a shame because in the 70's and 80's a film maker like him would have had each of his films eagerly anticipated. Perhaps the ease at which adult relationships are depicted by French masters, makes it look so easy and is taken for granted nowadays.
Even so, with WILD REEDS, in 1994 quite a few people had to take notice of what was one of the most sublime films of the last 20 years.
The WITNESSES (a dull overused title) is not far off that mark, but because it has to cram a lot more story in a similar space of time, it feels a bit more hurried. But that is not to its detriment( quite a lot does happen in our lives in a year and a half if you think about it, even without an ailment to catch!). It harks back to the time when AIDS first came to light, but this is not a 'disease' story. Yes, a character is affected, and the plot is a little complicated (and the other reviewer has made an excellent synopsis of it) but Techine is more interested in how complicated humans and their interpersonal relationships can be. It is all done in that classic mature french style that no one else ever gets right without seeming heavy handed, and Techine coaxes excellent performances all around. It is a heartrending film in its way, and I'm sure its a film that I will watch again (always a criteria at the back of your mind when you are in a store!)
If you remember 'Wild Reeds' and had forogtten about what Techine was capable of, get this and you will soon be investigating the excellent 4 film box set that is available from the US (which, by the way, is worth it for 'Wild Reeds' alone, but also has the excellent MY FAVOURITE SEASON & J'EMBRASSE PAS as well.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A hazy summer and a winter war..., 26 Jun 2008
By D. Elliot "Abolish the A.o.C." (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
'The Witnesses' (French, with English subtitles) from inimitable director André Téchiné (Les Voleurs, Wild Reeds, J'Embrasse Pas, Les Innocents) presents an intelligent character study - the genre at which French Cinema is truly unsurpassed.

Manu, a young gay man (early 20s) arrives in Paris in the summer of 1984 and lives with his older sister, a budding opera singer, in a hotel used by pimps and prostitutes. He soon encounters a doctor, Adrien (Michel Blanc), a man in his 50s. Adrien's love for Manu is unrequited, yet over a hazy summer he introduces Manu to the delights of Paris, and to a young couple of his acquaintance.

This young married couple - Mehdi (a vice squad policeman) and Sarah (a writer) - have an open relationship, made stormy by the arrival of their new baby, for whom Sarah can find no maternal love. An unexpected attraction blossoms between Manu and Mehdi, and the two embark on a secret affair.

Manu thus forms the locus of the group comprising his sister Julie, the older doctor Adrien, Mehdi and Sarah, each of whom has a differing emotional connection to each other. And this is really the key to 'The Witnesses'. The early 1980s setting certainly allows the spectre of the then-new AIDS virus to hover over the group, along with the politics of the era (insensitive, senseless, law enforcement excursions versus militant AIDS activism). However, the film is not intended (and does not operate) as a period piece for AIDS; the latter is more a metaphorical device for exploring the effects of 'new arrivals' upon existing relationships. The film's primary brilliance lies not in its plot (which could perhaps be described as flat and somewhat unoriginal) but as an expertly-constructed character study.

This is evident not least from the outstanding cast, which includes Michel Blanc, Emmanuelle Béart and Julie Depardieu. Blanc, as the ageing doctor, and Béart as the confused Sarah, offer particularly compelling performances; though the entire line up is formidable. Viewers should not expect a poignant or melodramatic storyline, but instead a feast of three-dimensional characters, highly complex, each with their own intensely human flaws and foibles. No fairytale story, this; rather a melting pot of base desires and diverse, elusive motivations.

'The Witnesses' will stand (and indeed deserves) multiple viewings to appreciate its incisive, nuanced portrayal of the dynamics of human relationships.

(Other notes: the DVD release (Dolby Digital sound) offers nothing substantive in the way of extras: a theatrical trailer and filmographies of three cast members.)
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An odd little gem, 24 Jan 2009
The Witnesses is, in many ways, a strange film. There are a number of inconsistencies within the film (the not-very-1984-style microwave or the modern people carriers in the background or the very-obviously-not-American, New Yorker, Steve), plus a number of severe, brutal even, cuts between scenes. Yet these factual inaccuracies and inconsistencies do not detract from what is an excellent film.

The performances here are, without exception, compelling. Johan Libereau, who plays a sweet young gay guy recently arrived in Paris, is wonderfully cast, while Michel Blanc's performance as the compassionate, older man, Adrien, is particularly noteworthy. It's the characters that drive the film, rather than an edge-of-your-seat, action-packed plot line. You don't have to like the characters, but you will believe they're real.

The film's greatest attribute lies in reminding people (or explaining to a younger generation) how sudden and frightening AIDS really was. Nowadays, even if we can't cure the disease, we are all well aware of what it is and where it came from. The film succeeds in creating an environment in which people didn't know what the disease was all about or what to do about it.

It deserves a wider audience.
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