''Daguerrotype'' (also known as ''The Woman in the Silver Plate''; ja, ダゲレオタイプの女; french: Le Secret de la chambre noire or french: La Femme de la plaque argentique) is a 2016 romantic horror film written and directed by

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic and a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Although he has worked in a variety of genres, Kurosawa is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre, his honorific ...

. It stars Tahar Rahim,

Constance Rousseau Constance Rousseau (born 13 August 1989) is a French actress. She appeared in more than twelve films since 2007. Selected filmography Cinema * 2007: '' All is forgiven'' by Mia Hansen-Løve – young Pamela * 2011: '' Kataï'' (short film) b ...

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse'' ...

, Mathieu Amalric, and

Malik Zidi Malik Zidi (born 14 February 1975)ifrance.com
is a French film, television and theatre actor. He is a

Plot

Stéphane, a renowned fashion photographer, lives in seclusion in a dilapidated house in the Paris suburbs, together with his daughter and muse Marie. Stéphane is obsessed with his wife's unexpected death and creates her daguerreotypes every day, using his daughter as a photomodel. In order for him to do so, Marie has to remain immobile for a long time, wearing an old-fashioned blue dress. Jean, a young Parisian and the new assistant of Stéphane, falls in love with Marie. He is disturbed by the long photo sessions and, together with Marie, tries to figure out how to free Stéphane from his obsession. Jean decides to convince Stéphane to sell his real estate. The money received for the sale may be used to start a life elsewhere—both for Jean who wants to live with Marie and for the photographer who can recreate his photography studio. But things do not go as planned.

Cast

* Tahar Rahim as Jean *

as Marie *

as Stephane * Mathieu Amalric as Vincent *

Malik Zidi Malik Zidi (born 14 February 1975)ifrance.com
is a French film, television and theatre actor. He is a

as Thomas * Valerie Sibilia as Denise * Jacques Collard as Louis

Release

The film had its world premiere in the Platform section at the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

on 11 September 2016. It was released in Japan on 15 October 2016, and in France on 8 March 2017. It also screened at the

21st Busan International Film Festival The 21st Busan International Film Festival was held from October 6 to October 15, 2016 at the Busan Cinema Center and was hosted by Sol Kyung-gu and Han Hyo-joo. A total of 301 films from 69 countries were screened at the festival, including 96 wo ...

, the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival, the 2017

Nippon Connection Nippon Connection is a festival for Japanese film which takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, every year in early summer. The festival is organized by the nonprofit organization “Nippon Connection e.V.”. Nippon Connection has become the b ...

, and the 2017 Japan Cuts.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 46% based on 13 reviews, and an average rating of 5.88/10. Boyd van Hoeij of '' The Hollywood Reporter'' gave the film a favorable review, saying, "A double-take scene in an empty church is an especially strong moment because of Rahim's (and Kurosawa's) tacit understanding of understatement." Meanwhile, Sam Fragoso of '' TheWrap'' gave the film an unfavorable review, describing it as "two or three movies haphazardly wrapped into one." Andrew Barker of '' Variety'' called it "Heavy on moody atmospherics yet fundamentally inert." Keith Uhlich of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' stated that it is reminiscent of William Dieterle's 1948 romantic fantasy film, ''

Portrait of Jennie ''Portrait of Jennie'' is a 1948 American fantasy film based on the 1940 novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. At the 21st Academy Awar ...

''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daguerrotype 2016 films 2010s romance films 2016 horror films Romantic horror films Japanese romance films Japanese horror films Japanese ghost films French romance films French ghost films French horror films 2010s French-language films Films directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa Films about photographers 2010s French films 2010s Japanese films