''Two Friends'' (french: Les Deux Amis)
is a 2015 French
romantic dramedy film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
directed by
Louis Garrel
Louis Garrel (born 14 June 1983) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his starring role in '' The Dreamers'', directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. in his feature debut, and co-written by Garrel and
Christophe Honoré. The film is loosely based on the play ''
The Moods of Marianne
''The Moods of Marianne'' (french: Les Caprices de Marianne) is an 1833 play by the French dramatist Alfred de Musset. It served as the basis for Jean Renoir's film ''The Rules of the Game'' (1939).
The play was first published on 15 May 1833 ...
'' by
Alfred de Musset. It was selected to screen in the
International Critics' Week
The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...
section at the
2015 Cannes Film Festival
The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...
.
Plot
Mona, a prisoner on
work release
In prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to go outside the prison and work at a place of employment, returning to prison when their shift is complete.
Some work release ...
, meets Clément, a shy actor. Desperate to impress Mona, Clément recruits his extroverted friend, Abel, to help. When Mona becomes more interested in Abel, it sets off a conflict between the two friends. Meanwhile, Mona attempts to keep her past hidden.
Cast
*
Golshifteh Farahani
Rahavard Farahani ( fa, رهاورد فراهانی; born 10 July 1983), known professionally as Golshifteh Farahani (), is an Iranian-French actress. She is known for her performances in ''M for Mother'' (2006), '' Body of Lies'' (2008), ''Abo ...
as Mona
*
Vincent Macaigne as Clément
*
Louis Garrel
Louis Garrel (born 14 June 1983) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his starring role in '' The Dreamers'', directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. as Abel
* Mahaut Adam as Colette
*
Pierre Maillet as Le réceptionniste hôtel
* Rhizlaine El Cohen as La gérante
*
Aymeline Valade
Aymeline Valade (born 17 October 1984) is a French supermodel and actress.
Early life
Born in Montpellier, Valade grew up in Lyon, Paris and Nice. Valade learned to read at the age of 11 and learned how to skate. Valade was first noticed by an ...
as La femme station-service
Release
The film had its world premiere at the
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 ...
, during the
International Critics' Week
The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...
, on 18 May 2015.
It was nominated for two awards, including the Golden Camera award.
It was first released in French theaters on 23 September 2015.
Reception
Box office
''Two Friends'' grossed $0 in North America and $125,812 worldwide,
against a production budget of about $3.3 million.
Critical response
On French
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
AlloCiné, the film holds an average rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on 18 critic's reviews. Peter Debruge of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote that the film captures "a sense of genuine emotion many directors never accomplish in their entire careers". Jordan Mintzer of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' called it "a charming if not entirely convincing feature debut".
Jonathan Romney at
Screen Daily says it was "Elegantly shot, the whole thing nevertheless seems at once thin and over-cooked: Philippe Sarde's lush orchestral score feels excess to requirements, given the intimate, ultimately claustrophobic scale of the drama."
Mubi
Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; The Auteurs before 2010) is a global curated film streaming platform, production company and film distributor. Mubi produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusivel ...
writes, "The latest filmmaker in the Garrel dynasty, Philippe’s son Louis picks up the camera for this, his debut feature as writer-director. Co-written with his regular collaborator Christophe Honoré, ''Two Friends'' is a terrific 21st-century spin on the classic—and yes, French—love-triangle drama."
Accolades
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Two Friends
2010s buddy comedy-drama films
2015 drama films
2015 directorial debut films
2015 films
2015 romantic comedy-drama films
French buddy comedy-drama films
French romantic comedy-drama films
2010s French-language films
French films based on plays
Films based on works by Alfred de Musset
Films directed by Louis Garrel
Films scored by Philippe Sarde
2010s French films