''The French Minister'' (french: link=no, Quai d'Orsay) is a 2013 French
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Bertrand Tavernier
Bertrand Tavernier (25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French director, screenwriter, actor and producer.
Life and career
Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, s ...
. Based on ''
Quai d'Orsay
The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a quay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole-France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai Branly west of t ...
'', a comic strip by
Christophe Blain
Christophe Blain (born 10 August 1970) is a French comic book author.
Life and career
Blain was born in Gennevilliers. He studied visual arts in Cherbourg and began drawing comics during his military service, first published by Albin Miche ...
and
Abel Lanzac, the film takes an initially comedic look at the
French Foreign Ministry
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to th ...
under
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac.
In his career working at the Ministry ...
but moves into more serious territory as France, in co-operation with Germany,
opposes the
2003 Invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the
2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
In January 2014, the film received three nominations at the
39th César Awards,
with
Niels Arestrup
Niels Arestrup (; born 8 February 1949) is a French-Danish actor, film director and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards.
Biography
Arestrup was born in Paris into a family of modest means; his father was Danish and his mother was Br ...
winning the award for
Best Supporting Actor.
Plot
After graduating from the ''
École nationale d'administration
The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Deb ...
'', which trains France's leaders in the public and private sectors, Arthur Vlaminck lands a job as speechwriter in the
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
. Existing senior advisers do not welcome a talented newcomer who may become a competitor but his abilities are recognised by the Minister and, most important, by Maupas, the career official heading the department. That said, coming up with the right words for the constantly changing world situation and the constantly changing reactions of the Minister proves no easy task. He gets hastily written drafts past Maupas, and past other senior advisers who rubbish them, only to find that the Minister's needs have changed. The film ends in February 2003 with a re-enactment of the actual speech by Dominique de Villepin to the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
, at which he contradicted claims by
Colin Powell and
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
and argued passionately for disarmament of Iraq but not invasion.
Cast
![Villepin ABr17112](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Villepin_ABr17112.jpeg)
*
Thierry Lhermitte
Thierry Lhermitte (; born 24 November 1952) is a French actor, director, writer and producer, best known for his comedic roles. He was a founder of the comedy troupe '' Le Splendid'' in the 1970s, along with, among others, Christian Clavier, Gé ...
as Alexandre Taillard de Worms (based on
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac.
In his career working at the Ministry ...
), French Minister of Foreign Affairs
*
Raphaël Personnaz as Arthur Vlaminck, a young speechwriter
*
Niels Arestrup
Niels Arestrup (; born 8 February 1949) is a French-Danish actor, film director and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards.
Biography
Arestrup was born in Paris into a family of modest means; his father was Danish and his mother was Br ...
as Claude Maupas, the phlegmatic civil servant who actually runs the ministry
*
Julie Gayet
Julie Gayet (; born 3 June 1972) is a French actress and film producer.[< ...]
as Valérie Dumontheil, special adviser on Africa
*
Jane Birkin
Jane Mallory Birkin, Order of British Empire, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She als ...
as Molly Hutchinson, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
*
Anaïs Demoustier
Anaïs Demoustier (; born Anaïs Aude Marie Michèle Demoustier; 29 September 1987) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 2000.
Personal life
During the filming of ''Marguerite & Julien'', Demoustier began dating ...
as Marina, Arthur's fiancée
* Alix Poisson as Odile, Maupas' secretary
*
Sonia Rolland as Nathalie, special adviser on relations with
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
*
Marie Bunel
Marie Bunel (born 1961) is a French film and stage actress.
Biography
Bunel was born on 27 May 1961 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood, California and to ...
as Martine, the minister's secretary
*
Thomas Chabrol
Thomas Chabrol (born 24 April 1963) is a French actor, director and screenwriter.
Filmography
On stage
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chabrol, Thomas
1963 births
20th-century French male actors
21st-century French male ac ...
as Sylvain Marquet, special adviser on Europe
*
François Perrot
François Perrot (26 February 1924 – 20 January 2019)Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, near the
Reichstag,
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
, as a fictional African country, and the
United Nations Building in New York.
Quoted material
* The film sections are preceded by quotations from the
Fragments of the Greek philosopher
Heraclitus
Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire.
Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrote ...
.
* The final speech at the UN is taken from
de Villepin's address on Iraq at the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
on 14 February 2003.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Minister
2013 films
2013 comedy films
2010s French-language films
Films à clef
Films about diplomats
Films about politicians
Films based on French comics
Films directed by Bertrand Tavernier
Films scored by Philippe Sarde
Films set in 2002
Films set in 2003
Films shot in Berlin
Films shot in New York City
Films shot in Senegal
French comedy films
Live-action films based on comics
Pathé films
2010s French films