''When I Was a Singer'' (french: Quand j'étais chanteur) is a 2006 French musical romantic drama film starring

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 alm ...

and

Cécile de France Cécile de France (; born 17 July 1975) is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as ''L'Art (délicat) de la séduction'' (2001) and ''Irène'' (2002), she gained international attention for her lead roles in ''Hi ...

. It was written and directed by

Xavier Giannoli Xavier Giannoli (born 7 March 1972) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. In 2010, he was named a Chevalier in the ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order ...

Plot

Alain Moreau sings for one of the few remaining dance-bands in Clermont-Ferrand. Though something of an idol amongst his female audience he has a melancholic awareness of the slow disappearance of that audience and of his advancing years. He is completely knocked off balance when he meets strikingly attractive and much younger businesswoman Marion. She seems distant and apparently otherwise involved but soon shows quiet signs of reciprocating his interest. A brief dalliance turns into something much more complicated and he starts to employ - indeed monopolise - her services as an estate agent by announcing he suddenly must move house.

Cast

as Alain Moreau *

Cécile De France Cécile de France (; born 17 July 1975) is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as ''L'Art (délicat) de la séduction'' (2001) and ''Irène'' (2002), she gained international attention for her lead roles in ''Hi ...

as Marion *

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich (2005 film), ...

as Bruno *

Christine Citti Christine Citti (born 26 October 1962 in Paris) is a French actress, director and writer. Personal life Her brother, Marc Citti, is also actor. Her father was mayor of Ramoulu in the Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val d ...

as Michèle * Patrick Pineau as Daniel * Alain Chanone as Philippe Mariani * Christophe as Himself *

Jean-Pierre Gos Jean-Pierre or Jean Pierre may refer to: People * Karine Jean-Pierre Karine Jean-Pierre (born August 13, 1974) is a French-American political advisor and has served as the White House press secretary since May 13, 2022. She is the first Black ...

as The mayor

Awards and nominations

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

(France) **Nominated:

Golden Palm 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 ...

(Xavier Giannoli) *

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

(France) **Won:

Best Sound This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awa ...

(Gabriel Hafner and François Musy) **Nominated: Best Actor – Leading Role (Gérard Depardieu) **Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Cécile De France) **Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Christine Citti) **Nominated: Best Editing (Martine Giordano) **Nominated:

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

**Nominated: Best Writing – Original (Xavier Giannoli)

Alternative titles

''Quand j'étais chanteur'' was released in the United Kingdom under the title ''The Singer''.

References

External links

* * 2006 films French romantic drama films 2000s French-language films Films directed by Xavier Giannoli 2006 romantic drama films 2000s musical drama films Films featuring a Best Actor Lumières Award-winning performance Films scored by Alexandre Desplat 2000s romantic musical films 2000s French films {{romantic-musical-film-stub