| World Cinema Showcase 2011 - 'SAGAN' |
| Written by Shahlin Graves |
| Tuesday, 05 April 2011 17:28 |
 SAGAN France | 2008 | 117 minutes DIRECTOR: Diane Kurys. CAST: Sylvie Testud, Pierre Palmade, Jeanne Balibar, Arielle Dombasle, Lionel Abelanski, Guillaime Gallienne, Denis Podalydès, Margot Abascal, Silvie Laguna. "“Charmant petit monstre” is how the French named (and tamed) her. If you’re susceptible to the charm of little monsters you should certainly check out actress Sylvie Testud’s brilliant personification of novelist Françoise Sagan. Sagan, who died in 2004 at the age of 69 remains best known for her debut work, Bonjour Tristesse, published in 1954 when she was 18. The tragic story of a spoilt 17-year-old girl’s sabotaging her philandering father’s marriage plans, it was an international scandal and earned over 500 million francs in royalties within months of its publication. Sagan wrote prolifically for four decades and consorted with Sartre and François Mitterrand, but it was her conspicuous consumption that kept her in the public eye. She was an extravagant gambler, compulsive drinker and serial abandoner of lovers, male and female. Addicted to morphine, she was arrested for drug offences – and for tax fraud. Sylvie Testud’s performance channels Sagan’s electric wit and her arresting faux gaucheries with uncanny accuracy: you see that she was dangerous fun to be around. But she also conveys narcissism, an appalling nihilism shading the nonchalance. Diane Kurys’ feature, condensed from a French TV series, traverses the decades episodically. It is a remarkably unsentimental addition to the recent spate of French pop-culture bio-pics, brought to life by a stellar performance." Click HERE for more details on 'Sagan'. Thanks to our friends at the World Cinema Showcase, we have a double-pass to give away to the Auckland, April 17th screening of 'Sagan'! To be entered into the draw to win the double-pass, e-mail the titles of five books that Françoise Sagan has written, with WSC SAGAN COMP in the subject box, and your full name and mailing address to: mail@coupdemainmagazine.com. AUCKLAND: SKYCITY Theatre Wed 13 April, 11.15 am / Fri 15 April, 2.00 pm / Sun 17 April, 5.15 pm WELLINGTON: Paramount Wed 20 April, 2.00 pm / Fri 22 April, 6.00 pm (Bergman) / Sat 23 April, 6.30 pm (Bergman) / Tue 26 April, 6.30 pm DUNEDIN: Rialto Cinemas Wed 11 May, 11.30 am / Thu 12 May, 6.30 pm Click HERE for the full list of films playing at the World Cinema Showcase 2011. Watch the trailer for 'Sagan' below... |
