''Esther Kahn'' is the first English-language film by the French director

Arnaud Desplechin Arnaud Desplechin (; born 31 October 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for ''My Golden Days'' (2015). Life and career Desplechin was born in Roubaix. He is the son of Robert and ...

. It premiered at the

2000 Cannes Film Festival The 53rd Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2000. French film director, screenwriter, and producer Luc Besson was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film ''Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier. The fe ...

where it competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

, but was not distributed to the United States for two years until it played in New York City in 2002. It stars

Summer Phoenix Summer Joy Phoenix (née Bottom) is an American actress. She is the youngest sibling of actors River Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, and Liberty Phoenix. Early life Phoenix was born in Winter Park, Florida. Her mother, Arlyn Sharo ...

as Esther and

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, ...

as her friend and teacher, Nathan Quellen.

Plot

Esther Kahn a Jewish girl in 19th Century London dreams of becoming a stage actress.

Cast

- Esther Kahn *

- Nathan Quellen * Fabrice Desplechin - Philippe Haygard *

Akbar Kurtha Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

- Samuel Kahn *

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

- Rivka Kahn * László Szabó - Ytzhok Kahn *

Hilary Sesta Hilary or Hillary may refer to: * Hillary Clinton, American politician * Hillary Coast, Antarctica * Hilary (name), or Hilarie or Hillary, a given name and surname * Hilary term, the spring term at the Universities of Oxford and Dublin * ''Hikari ...

- Buba * Claudia Solti - Mina Kahn * Berna Raif - Becky Kahn *

Emmanuelle Devos Emmanuelle Devos (born 10 May 1964) is a French actress. She is the daughter of actress Marie Henriau. She won the César Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in ''Sur mes lèvres'', directed by Jacques Audiard. She has also been ...

- Sylvia (the Italian woman) * Paul Regan - Joel * Arnold Brown - Rabbi *

Leon Lissek Leon Lissek (19 January 1939 – 13 January 2022) was an Australian-born British actor. He appeared in over 80 films in his career, which started with ''Marat/Sade''. Lissek was well known for his television roles in ''The Sullivans'' and ''Eas ...

- Theatre manager *

Ian Bartholomew Ian Bartholomew (born 23 August 1954) is a British actor and musician from Portsmouth, England who has worked widely in both theatre and television. In March 2018, Bartholomew joined the cast of ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', as Geoff ...

- Norton * Samantha Lavelle - Christel *

Kika Markham Erika S.L. "Kika" Markham (born 1940)''birth registered 4th quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec) 1940'' is an English actress. Early life Markham is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn (1914–2007). She has three sisters: Petra, Sonia a ...

- Trish *

Paul Ritter Simon Paul Adams (20 December 1966 – 5 April 2021), known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including ''Son of Rambow'' (2007), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' ...

- Alman, the photographer

Production

Deplechin adapted the screenplay with regular collaborator

Emmanuel Bourdieu Emmanuel Bourdieu (born 6 April 1965 in Paris) is a French writer, playwright, film director and philosopher. He is the youngest son of Marie Claire Brizard and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Biography While a student at Lycée Henri-IV, he m ...

from a short story by

Arthur Symons Arthur William Symons (28 February 186522 January 1945) was a British poet, critic and magazine editor. Life Born in Milford Haven, Wales, to Cornish parents, Symons was educated privately, spending much of his time in France and Italy. In 1884 ...

of the same name from his book ''Spiritual Adventures''.

auditioned three times before she was offered the role of Esther.

Reception

Initial reviews of the film were mixed. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 52%, based on 25 reviews. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 12 critics.

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

named it the best film of 2000. In 2010 it ranked 52nd on Film Comment's end of the decade critics poll.

References

External links

* 2000 films 2000 drama films British drama films English-language French films 2000s French-language films Films about Jews and Judaism Films directed by Arnaud Desplechin Films with screenplays by Arnaud Desplechin Films set in the 19th century Films shot in London French independent films British independent films Films scored by Howard Shore 2000s English-language films 2000s British films 2000s French films {{2000s-France-film-stub