Les Mains libres

Les Mains libres

Promotional poster
Directed by Brigitte Sy
Produced by
  • Mathieu Bompoint
  • Claire Trinquet
Written by
  • Brigitte Sy
  • Gaëlle Macé
Starring
Music by Daniel Mille
Cinematography Frédéric Serve
Edited by Julie Dupré
Production
company
  • Mezzanine Films
  • Canal+
  • CinéCinéma
  • Centre National de la Cinématographie
Distributed by Chrysalis Films
Release dates
  • 16 June 2010 (France)
Running time
100 minutes
Country France
Language French
Budget €1.64m

Les Mains libres is a 2010 French drama film directed by Brigitte Sy. It stars Ronit Elkabetz, Carlo Brandt, and Noémie Lvovsky. It was released theatrically in France on 16 June 2010. It is a feature-length prequel to Sy's 2008 short film, L'Endroit idéal.[1]

Plot

Barbara (Elkabetz) is a filmmaker developing a film written and acted by prison inmates in Paris. She defies legal boundaries and unleashes a series of consequence when she forms a deep romantic relationship with Michel (Brandt), an inmate involved in the film project.[2]

Cast

Reception

Thomas Baurez of L'Express, described it as "intelligent, gracious and humble.. a love story of the purest sense of the term."[3] Lucie Calet of Le Nouvel Observateur, continued that it is a "Greek tragedy" of "great dignity."[4] Le Figaro praised the depiction of the tangible reality of the film as well as Eliabetz' superb and dark performance, evoking traits of the Madonna.[5]

The film was warmly received by The New Yorker; "with calm and nuanced images, Sy captures emotionally unguarded characters locked in the gaze of prying eyes; with brusque, quiet action and incisive, tight-lipped dialogue, she sets a gripping plot in motion while keeping it close to the heart."[6]

References

  1. L'Endroit idéal (2008) Uni France. Retrieved on 5 July 2010
  2. New releases Cineuropa. 16 June 2010
  3. Les mains libres, brillant ! (Studio Ciné Live) L'Express. 15 June 2010. French
  4. Les Mains libres de Brigitte Sy Evene. Retrieved on 29 June. French
  5. La femme et le prisonnier Le Figaro. 16 June 2010. French
  6. Free Hands The New Yorker. Retrieved on 16 April 2011

External links