''About Joan'' (, ) is a 2022 drama film directed by

Laurent Larivière Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

. The film stars Isabelle Huppert, Lars Eidinger and

Swann Arlaud Swann Arlaud (born 30 November 1981) is a French actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Romantics Anonymous'' (2010), ''Les Anarchistes'' (2015), ''The Wakhan Front'' (2015) and '' Baden Baden'' (2016). Career In 2020 Arlaud won the César A ...

. It is a French-German-Irish co-production. The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 15 February 2022. On this occasion, Huppert received the Honorary Golden Bear for her entire career.

Plot

Joan Verra is an independent, loving woman with a free and adventurous spirit. When her first love returns without warning after years of absence, she decides not to tell him that they had a son together. This lie by omission is an opportunity for her to revisit her life: her youth in Ireland, her professional success, her loves and her relationship with her son. A seemingly fulfilled life, but one which hides a secret that she will have to face.

Cast

* Isabelle Huppert as Joan Verra **

Freya Mavor Freya Mavor (born 13 August 1993) is a Scottish actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Mini McGuinness in the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' and Daria Greenock in the HBO finance drama series ''Industry''. Early life Mavor was born i ...

as Joan Verra, in the 1970s * Lars Eidinger as Tim Ardenne *

as Nathan Verra ** Louis Broust as Nathan Verra, in the 1980s ** Dimitri Doré as Nathan Verra, in the 1990s *

Florence Loiret-Caille Florence Loiret Caille (born 26 June 1975) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than sixty films since 1996. Filmography References External links * 1975 births Living people French film actresses {{France-actor-st ...

as Madeleine Verra * Stanley Townsend as Doug ** Éanna Hardwicke as Doug, in the 1970s * Fabrice Scott as James

Production

In September 2020, it was announced that Isabelle Huppert, Lars Eidinger and

were cast in a new film directed by

. Filming took place for a week in Cologne, Germany, four weeks in Lyon, France and six days in Dublin, Ireland. The film is a French-German-Irish co-production. Laurent Larivière wrote the script with François Decodts with the intent of making a "novel-like film spanning different periods over forty years in different countries, a film in which you could hear several languages." Four languages can be heard spoken in the film: English, German, French, and a bit of Japanese at the end of the film.

Release

The film was an official selection at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, in the section ''Berlinale Special Gala''. It had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on 15 February 2022. On this occasion, the actress Isabelle Huppert received the Honorary Golden Bear for her entire career. It was screened at the Dublin International Film Festival on 25 February 2022. It was theatrically released in Germany by Camino Filmverleih on 31 August 2022. It was theatrically released in France by Haut et Court on 14 September 2022.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 5 critic reviews indicating "generally favorable" reviews. ''About Joan'' received an average rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 20 reviews.

References

External links

* * {{AlloCiné title, 279601 2022 films 2022 drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s French-language films 2020s German-language films 2020s French films French drama films German drama films Irish drama films Films shot in Cologne Films shot in Dublin (city) Films shot in Lyon