La Veuve De Saint-Pierre
2000
This dark drama explores a true tale set in 1850 on the isolated French-Canadian island of St. Pierre. Yugoslav director Emir Kustirica makes a fabulous acting debut as Neele August, an illiterate fisherman who brutally murders his ex-fishing captain in a night of drunken revelry. Sentenced to death, August cannot be killed .. Read more
| Starring | Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Michel Duchaussoy, Marc Beland |
|---|---|
| Director | Patrice Leconte |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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La Veuve De Saint-Pierre
This dark drama explores a true tale set in 1850 on the isolated French-Canadian island of St. Pierre. Yugoslav director Emir Kustirica makes a fabulous acting debut as Neele August, an illiterate fisherman who brutally murders his ex-fishing captain in a night of drunken revelry. Sentenced to death, August cannot be killed until the remote island governor imports a used guillotine from the French government. While awaiting the arrival of the "widow," August is placed under the care of the reticent, iconoclastic Captain Jean (Daniel Auteuil) and his freethinking wife, Pauline (Juliette Binoche). Under Pauline's direction, August becomes a devoted social servant whose heroic deeds place the island's female population solidly against his death sentence.
The film's costuming and art direction are accomplished, setting the stage for Eduardo Serra's gorgeous landscape cinematography, at its best amongst the dreary seasonal changes of the remote island. Low angles, hand-held camerawork, and consistently foggy skies create a seasick feeling as director Patrice Leconte's pained attention to Jean's horse and the society surrounding the main characters elevates the film from a tidy chamber drama into a visually engaging philosophical discourse.
| Starring | Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Michel Duchaussoy, Marc Beland, Christian Charmetant, Philippe Du Janerand, Emir Kusturica, Philippe Magnan |
|---|---|
| Director | Patrice Leconte |
| Studio | CINEMA CLUB |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 47 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: French |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: not available Production year: 2000 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Set in 1850, Patrice Leconte's sombre tragedy unfolds against the austere backdrop of Saint-Pierre, a small French island off the Canadian coast. A drunken drifter (played by Yugoslavian film director Emir Kusturica) is found guilty of murder and is sentenced to death. There being neither guillotine nor executioner on the isle, the condemned man is placed in the custody of captain Daniel Auteuil and his wife, Juliette Binoche, who become attached to their prisoner and plot his escape. It's an unusual story, told with empathy and precision, while Binoche and Auteuil are well-matched as the couple who risk all in a selfless and ultimately self-destructive act of compassion. Still, it's a bit dreary at times, with little of the visual splendour of Leconte's previous efforts, Ridicule and The Girl on the Bridge.
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Saint-Pierre is a small island off Newfoundland. The year is 1850. Fog and scandal enwrap the island in the wake of a... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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20 out of 20 people found this review helpful
A very enjoyable film.
A beautiful period drama set on the french 'cod islands' off the Newfoundland coast in the 1850's.
La Veuve in the title has a double meaning, it translates as 'The Widow' but was also the french nickname for the guillotine.
Good performances from Daniel Auteuil as the Army captain and Juliette Binoche as his wife.
It is never clear thoughout the film who the widow would turn out to be, or wether someone does end up losing their head. I won't spoil it for you.
Watching the film with subtitles was not a problem, a great film. -
Most recent members' review
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5 out of 6 people found this review helpful
The Widow of St. Pierre
A man commits murder on the French held island of St. Pierre off Newfoundland. He is condemned to death by the civil authorities but there is no guillotine on the island. Whilst the guillotine is being sent from Martinique, under the tutelage of the wife of the captain of the military on the island, the murderer becomes a model citizen. Then when the problem of the guillotine is solved the authorities have the problem of finding an executioner from amongst the islanders who are now firmly opposed to the condemned man?s death. A secondary and related theme is that the captain of the military presence on the island refuses to provide an escort for the condemned man when he is taken to be beheaded. For this refusal the captain is accused of sedition by the repressive civil authorities.
The film covers much the same moral ground as Kieslowski?s ?Short film about killing?. Yet even though Leconte makes good use of the foul winter weather and the fogs around the island the film lack?s the stark power of Kieslowski?s film because it introduces other elements, such as love, pride and repentance into the equation.
Nevertheless it is still a worthwhile film to see and to think about. -
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La Veuve De Saint-Pierre
This dark drama explores a true tale set in 1850 on the isolated French-Canadian island of St. Pierre. Yugoslav director Emir Kustirica makes a fabulous acting debut as Neele August, an illiterate fisherman who brutally murders his ex-fishing captain in a night of drunken revelry. Sentenced to ...
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