''Boxes'' (french: Les Boites) is a 2007
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
film and the directorial debut of
Jane Birkin. Birkin also stars alongside
Geraldine Chaplin and
Michel Piccoli. The film is based on Birkin's own family life, chronicling three marriages and the three children she bore from these marriages. The title alludes to the way in which she compartmentalises these relationships and stages of her life. The film was nominated for the Grand Prix at the
Bratislava International Film Festival The Bratislava International Film Festival (also known as Bratislava IFF) is an international film festival established in 1999 and held annually in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Apart from the international competition programme, it also regularly featur ...
. The film premiered in the
Un Certain Regard portion of the
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 60th Cannes Film Festival ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. The President of the Jury was British director Stephen Frears. Twenty two films from twelve countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 26 May. ''4 M ...
on 21 May. It was released in France on 6 June 2007.
Plot
In
Brittany, a middle-aged woman, Anna lives in a rambling home with her sometime dead father (Piccoli), her opinionated mother (Chaplin) and the memories of her three grown-up daughters. As Anna struggles with her mid-life crisis, the possessions and photographs in the home begin to spark her memories of childhood and earlier adulthood.
In particular the memories evoked are of her three husbands and the children she bore with them. Her first marriage to Fanny's
English father (Hurt) failed and as a consequence, Fanny (Régnier) barely knows him. Fanny's half-sister is Camille (Doillon), who Anna had with Camille's now dead father, Max (Benichou). There is also her third husband, Jean (Karyo), with whom she had Lilly (Exarchopoulos), but he left to pursue affairs.
Cast
*
Geraldine Chaplin as Mother
*
Michel Piccoli as Father
*
Jane Birkin as Anna
*
Natacha Régnier as Fanny
*
Lou Doillon as Camille
*
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...
as Fanny's father
*
Maurice Bénichou as Max
*
Tchéky Karyo as Jean
*
Adèle Exarchopoulos
Adèle Exarchopoulos (; born 22 November 1993 in Paris) is a French actress. She is best known for her leading role as Adèle in '' Blue Is the Warmest Colour'' (2013), for which she earned international attention and critical acclaim; at the 20 ...
as Lilli
*
Annie Girardot as Joséphine
Production
Birkin wrote the script for ''Boxes'' in 1995, shortly after her father's death. The film was shot in Birkin's own family home in
Landéda
Landéda (; br, Landeda) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
Geography
The coastal commune of Landéda forms a peninsula between two rias, the Aber Wrac'h to the north and the Aber-Benoît to the s ...
. Birkin offered the main role of Anna to Chaplin, but Chaplin turned this down, feeling that as the role was written for a 45-year-old woman, she would be better suited to the role of Anna's mother.
[
]
Reception
'' Le Figaro'' praised the "worrying, unpredictable and touching sincerity" of the film.[''« Boxes» Un autoportrait éparpillé''. Le Figaro. 6 June 2007] Michèle Levieux of '' L'Humanité'' said that the film was so well written, it deserved to be adapted for the stage.[Levieux, Michèle. ''Qu'est-ce qui fait courir Jane ?''. L'Humanité. 28 December 2007]
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0901473, Boxes
2007 films
French drama films
2007 drama films
2007 directorial debut films
English-language French films
2000s French films