''The Last Flight'' (''Le dernier vol'') is a 2009 French film. Directed by

Karim Dridi Karim Dridi (born 9 January 1961 in tunis) is a French Tunisian film director and screenwriter. He has directed ten films since 1987. His 1994 film '' Pigalle'' was entered into the main competition at the 51st edition of the Venice Film Fest ...

, it stars

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...

and

Guillaume Canet Guillaume Canet (; born 10 April 1973) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and show jumper. Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like ''Joyeux Noël'', '' Love Me If ...

. The film is based on the French novel ''Le dernier vol de Lancaster'' by

Sylvain Estibal Sylvain Estibal (born 13 March 1967) is a French reporter, author and film director. The film '' The Last Flight'' was based on Estibal's 2006 book. He directed the film '' When Pigs Have Wings'' for which he was awarded the César Award for Best ...

which is loosely based on the real life events surrounding the disappearance of British aviator

Bill Lancaster William Henry Lancaster (November 17, 1947 – January 4, 1997) was an American screenwriter and actor. Early life He was born November 17, 1947, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) and Norma Anderson (1917–198 ...

Synopsis

Aviator Marie Vallières de Beaumont (Cotillard) goes on a journey to find her lover Bill Lancaster after his plane disappears in the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. After her plane is forced down in the

Ténéré The Ténéré (Tuareg: Tenere, literally: "desert") is a desert region in the south central Sahara. It comprises a vast plain of sand stretching from northeastern Niger into western Chad, occupying an area of over . The Ténéré's boundaries are ...

she meets Lieutenant Antoine Chauvet (Canet) of the French Camel Corps who joins in the hunt for Lancaster. As the two endure hardships in the desert, they begin to develop feelings for each other.

Cast

as Marie Vallières de Beaumont *

as Antoine Chauvet *Frédéric Epaud as Louis *Michaël Vander-Meiren as Vasseur *Guillaume Marquet as Capatain Vincent Brosseau *Saïdou Abatcha as Saïddou

Production

Karim Dridi decided to develop the film after reading French journalist Sylvain Estibal's novel ''Le dernier vol de Lancaster''. Dridi had travelled through the Sahara and was interested in making ''The Last Flight'' because he felt the novel could be made into a film that deviated from the normal conventions of the

romantic epic Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

. After he narrated the story to Marion Cotillard, she agreed to play Marie, a character loosely based on Lancaster's real-life lover, Chubbie Miller. ''The Last Flight'' was originally scheduled to begin shooting in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesMoroccan village of

Merzouga Merzouga is a small village in southeastern Morocco, about southeast of Rissani, about from Erfoud and about from the Algerian border. The village is known for its proximity to Erg Chebbi and is a popular destination for tourists. It has been ...

. Due to the location change, Tuareg actors had to be brought in from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. For his role in the film as a French lieutenant who has assimilated to

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

culture, Guillaume Canet learned

Tamasheq Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Tamaja ...

, the Tuareg language.

Reception

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews. While critics praised Antoine Monod's cinematography, they criticised the story for a perceived lack of originality, comparing it to ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

'' and ''

The Sheltering Sky ''The Sheltering Sky'' is a 1949 novel of alienation and existential despair In psychology and psychotherapy, existential crises are inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning. Some authors also emphasize confus ...

''.

Box office

''The Last Flight'' opened in France in the fifth position behind ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

'', ''

Arthur and the Invisibles ''Arthur and the Invisibles'' or ''Arthur and the Minimoys'' (French: ''Arthur et les Minimoys'') is a 2006 English-language French fantasy adventure comedy animated/live-action film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is ...

'',

Nicolas Vanier Nicolas Vanier (born 5 May 1962) is a French adventurer, writer and director. His 2004 film '' The Last Trapper'' follows a trapper in Yukon, Canada. His film, ' ("Wolf") was released at the end of 2009 and was presented at the 2010 Cannes Film ...

's ', and '. By 27 December it had earned only $2.8 million.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Flight 2000s French-language films 2009 films French films based on actual events Films set in the French colonial empire French drama films Films set in Africa Films directed by Karim Dridi French aviation films Films shot in Morocco 2009 drama films 2000s French films