''Métamorphoses'' (''Transformations'') is a 2014 French

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film written and directed by

Christophe Honoré Christophe Honoré (born 10 April 1970) is a French writer and film and theatre director. Career Honoré was born in Carhaix, Finistère. After moving to Paris in 1995, he wrote articles in ''Les Cahiers du Cinéma''. He started writing soon aft ...

and starring Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Damien Chapelle, Mélodie Richard and George Babluani. The film consists of a linked series of reworkings (in present-day settings) of episodes from the

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be s ...

of the same name by the Roman poet

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. It was screened in the Venice Days section at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

Synopsis

Leaving her school, a young woman meets a handsome but strange young man. Attracted by the stories he tells her, she is fascinated by tales of gods and young mortals. The film recounts the encounter first of Jupiter and Europe, with the male god in the form of seducer,

pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

, initiator. Bacchus then illustrates the necessity to believe in the myths of gods, or else to suffer for one's impiety. Lastly there is Orpheus and his proselytism, his teaching and his prophecy; a sect groups itself around him up to his violent death. The stories are linked by Europe, a young women who grows through experiencing the worlds of these three characters, watching, following them from her state of innocence.

Cast

* Matthis Lebrun as Actéon * Samantha Avrillaud as Diane * Amira Akili as

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

* Sébastien Hirel as

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

* Mélodie Richard as Junon * Coralie Rouet as Io * Nadir Sönmez as Mercure * Vincent Massimino as

Argus Argus is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek word ''Argos''. It may refer to: Greek mythology * See Argus (Greek myth) for mythological characters named Argus **Argus (king of Argos), son of Zeus (or Phoroneus) and Niobe **Argus (son of Ar ...

* Olivier Müller as Pan * Myriam Guizani as

Syrinx In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, sh ...

* Gabrielle Chuiton as Baucis * Jean Courte as Philémon * Rachid O as Tirésias * Arthur Jacquin as

Narcisse Narcisse can be both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Narcisse Bambara (born 1989), Burkinabé footballer * Narcisse Blais (1812–1888), Canadian farmer and political figure in Quebec * Narcisse Bona ...

* Damien Chapelle as

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

* Julien Antonini as the hermaphrodite * Marlène Saldana as

Salmacis Salmacis ( grc, Σαλμακίς) was an atypical Naiad nymph of Greek mythology. She rejected the ways of the virginal Culture of Greece, Greek goddess Artemis in favour of vanity and idleness. Mythology Ovid's version Salmacis' attempted ...

* Yannick Guyomard as Penthée * Jimmy Lenoir as

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; grc-gre, Κάδμος, Kádmos) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the da ...

* George Babluani as Orphée * Vimala Pons as Atalante * Erwan Ha-Kyoon Larcher as Hippomène * Keti Bicolli as

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

Production

Filming took place between 13 May and June 2013. The film was shot in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

and surrounding areas.

Music

The sound track includes sections of Mozart's overture to '' Zaide'', Schoenberg's '' Verklärte Nacht'', Webern's String Quartet op.5, Ravel's '' Rapsodie Espagnole'' and ''

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...

'', and several works by

Baxter Dury Baxter Dury (born 18 December 1971) is an English indie musician, originally signed to Rough Trade Records. Early life Baxter Dury is the son of Ian Dury and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Rathmell. As a young boy he appeared on the front cover o ...

.Final credits to ''Métamorphoses'' (2014).

References

External links