''The Mad Women's Ball'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Le bal des folles'') is a 2021 French

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

thriller film directed by Mélanie Laurent from a screenplay by Laurent and Christophe Deslandes. It is based upon the novel ''Le bal des folles'' by Victoria Mas, and stars Laurent,

Lou de Laâge Lou de Laâge (born 27 April 1990) is a French actress.Thierry Chèze ''L'Express'', April 11, 2013Sophie GrassinLou de Laâge, le charme à l'état pur ''Le Figaro'', May 11, 2012Khadija Moussou5 choses à savoir sur Lou de Laâge ''Elle'', She ...

Emmanuelle Bercot Emmanuelle Bercot (born 6 November 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Clément'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Her 2013 film '' On My Way'' premiered in competi ...

Benjamin Voisin Benjamin Voisin (born December 24, 1996) is a French actor. For his role as David Gorman in the dramatic film '' Summer of 85'', he was nominated for the César Award 2021 and the Lumière Award Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière ...

, Cédric Kahn and Grégoire Bonnet. It had its world premiere at the

2021 Toronto International Film Festival The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz"TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’ ...

on 12 September 2021 and was released for streaming on 17 September 2021 by Amazon Studios.

Cast

as Eugénie Cléry * Mélanie Laurent as Geneviève Gleizes *

as Jeanne *

Martine Chevallier Martine Chevallier (born 1949 in Gap, Hautes-Alpes, France) is a French actress. Career Martine Chevallier joined the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique in the class of Antoine Vitez and won the first prize in 1974. In 1986, ...

as Grand-mère Cléry *

as Théophile Cléry * Cédric Kahn as François Cléry * Lomane de Dietrich as Louise * Christophe Montenez as Jules * Coralie Russier as Henriette * Lauréna Thellier as Marguerite * Martine Schambacher as Thérèse * Valérie Stroh as Mère Cléry *

André Marcon André Marcon (born 6 July 1948) is a French actor. In 1980 he starred in ''Le Voyage en douce'' directed by Michel Deville. Selected filmography * ''Le Voyage en douce'' (1980) * '' Stolen Life'' (1998) * ''Peau d'Ange'' (2002) * ''The Page ...

as Dr. Gleizes * Grégoire Bonnet as Dr.

Jean-Martin Charcot Jean-Martin Charcot (; 29 November 1825 – 16 August 1893) was a French neurology, neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He worked on hypnosis and hysteria, in particular with his hysteria patient Louise Augustine Gleizes. Charcot ...

Production

In January 2020, it was announced that Mélanie Laurent would write and direct a film based upon the novel ''Le bal des folles'' by Victoria Mas, with

Alain Goldman Alain Goldman, also known as Ilan Goldman (born 12 January 1961) is a French film producer. Early life Goldman was born in Montmartre, Paris, the son of Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish parents. His grandfather was the first representative for Universal Pi ...

serving as a producer under his

Légende Films Legende or Légende may refer to: * ''Légende'' (Cras), a work for cello and piano by Jean Cras * ''Légende'' (Enescu), a work for solo trumpet and piano by George Enescu * ''Légende'' (Wieniawski), a showpiece by the Polish violin virtuoso He ...

banner. In June 2020, it was announced that Laurent and

had joined the cast of the film, with

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

set to distribute the film in France. In November 2020, it was further announced that

, Benjamin Voisin, Cédric Khan and Grégoire Bonnet had joined the cast of the film, with Amazon Studios distributing worldwide and with Gaumont no longer distributing. Principal photography began in November 2020. The soundtrack was composed by

Asaf Avidan Asaf Avidan ( he, אסף אבידן; born March 23, 1980) is a singer-songwriter from Israel. From 2006 to 2011, he was part of the group Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, independently releasing three studio albums. '' The Reckoning'', their debut recor ...

and performed by Avidan (Piano and Keyboards) and Coleman Itzkoff (Cello).

Release

''The Mad Woman's Ball'' had its world premiere at the

on 12 September 2021. It was released on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

on 17 September 2021.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an 85% approval rating based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Its themes are occasionally undercut by its storytelling, but outstanding performances give ''The Mad Women's Ball'' a poignant, disturbing power." On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote: "Contrived and possibly overheated though the film might be at times, there is real storytelling gusto to it, and Laurent punches it across with relish."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Woman's Ball, The 2021 films 2021 thriller drama films French thriller films Films directed by Mélanie Laurent Amazon Studios films Films set in psychiatric hospitals Amazon Prime Video original films Films set in the 1880s 2020s French films