Les Témoins

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Manu is 20 years old when he arrives in Paris to look for a job. Initially, he moves in with his sister, Julie, who rents a room in a sleazy hotel. Julie's life revolves around music. She is training to be an opera singer and tries hard to partition herself off from her ebullient brother. Manu is a night bird. One night he meets Adrien, an extrovert and cultivated gay doctor in his early 50s with whom he strikes up a carefree, platonic friendship. Adrien soon introduces Manu to his circle of friends. Shortly afterwards, Adrien takes Manu for a boat trip on the Mediterranean with a young married couple: Mehdi, who is a cop, and Sarah, a writer. The recent birth of their first child seems only to have made this unconventional couple even happier together, but appearances are deceptive. For Mehdi, the zealous police inspector, paternity has magnified his tyrannical side and this leads to excessive behaviour both at work and in his sex-life. Meanwhile, Sarah is unable to come to terms with being a mother, feeling that it encroaches on her identity as a woman. Unable to bond with her baby, she immerses herself in her writing in a desperate quest for inspiration. Manu's arrival in Paris and his intrusion into Julie, Adrien, Mehdi and Sarah's lives creates shockwaves in all their relationships. Unintentionally and unknowingly, Manu forces them confront their true desires. 
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details

  • Runtime

    115 min
  • Country

    France
  • Year of Presentation

    2007
  • Year of Production

    2006
  • Director

    André Téchiné
  • Cast

    Michel Blanc, Emmanuelle Béart, Sami Bouajila, Julie Depardieu, Johan Libereau, Constance Dollé, Alain Cauchi, Lorenzo Balducci, Raphaëline Goupilleau, Michèle Moretti, Bertrand Soulier, Jacques Nolot, Xavier Beauvois
  • Production Company

    SBS Films
  • Berlinale Section

    Competition
  • Berlinale Category

    Feature Film

Biography André Téchiné

Born in Valence d’Agen, France in 1943, he wrote for the film magazine ‘Cahiers du Cinéma’ between 1964 and 1967 and then became assistant director to Jacques Rivette. He first began directing in Parisian theatre before becoming a screenwriter and film director at the beginning of the 1970s. His greatest successes include MA SAISON PRÉFERÉE (MY FAVORITE SEASON) and his multi-award- winning drama LES ROSEAUX SAUVAGES (WILD REEDS). He was most recently in the Berlinale Competition in 2007 with LES TÉMOINS (THE WITNESSES).

Filmography André Téchiné

1969 Paulina s'en va | 1975 Souvenir d'en France | 1976 Barocco | 1979 Les Coeurs Bronte | 1981 Hotel des Amériques | 1983 La Matiouette | 1985 Rendez-vous | 1986 Le Lieu du Crime | 1987 Les Innocents | 1991 J'embrasse pas | 1993 Ma Saison Préférée | 1994 Les Voleurs | 1994 Les Roseaux Sauvages | 1998 Alice et Martin | 2001 Loin | 2003 Les Égarés | 2009 La fille du RER | 2011 Impardonnables | 2012 L'homme qu'on avait trop | 2013 Tous les Garçons et les Filles de leur Age | 2016 Quand on a 17 ans | 2017 Nos années folles | 2019 L'adieu à la nuit