''The Minister'' (french: L'Exercice de l'État) is a 2011 French-Belgian

political drama A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas i ...

film directed by Pierre Schöller.

Plot

French Transport Minister Bertrand Saint-Jean arrives at the scene of a serious bus crash with many fatalities. He later attends a news interview where he is asked about the government's plans to

privatize Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

some train stations as part of a budget reform. Bertrand is supposed to be a major facilitator of this reform, but neither he nor his friend and assistant Gilles approve the plan. Popular opinion also disapproves of the privatization. However, Bertrand doesn't want to oppose the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. While his staff oppose the reform, Bertrand hopes the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

will provide a watered-down reform to end popular protest. The Prime Minister promises the first step will only consist of five secondary train stations. Bertrand suffers so much from pressure that he has a nightmare in which he commits suicide after reading the five stations are the most prestigious in all of France. Finally, when Bertrand thought all his staff would abandon him, Gilles ensures him he will stay to help Bertrand negotiate the reform into something acceptable. In the end, the President intervenes himself to arbitrate. But contrary to Bertrand's hopes, he has no intention of softening the reform. Bertrand clearly noticed that he has no say in the reform details; his mission is to implement them to the letter while reassuring opponents. Even worse, the Prime Minister and President have already selected a new generation of assistants for Bertrand in this mission, explicitly ordering Gilles to be fired. Bertrand silently accepts these orders. The film ends as he walks out of the President's office hiding how heartbreaking these orders are.

Cast

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse ...

as Bertrand Saint-Jean, Minister of Transport * Michel Blanc as Gilles *

Zabou Breitman Zabou Breitman (born Isabelle Breitman; 30 October 1959), or simply Zabou, is a French actress and director. She is the daughter of actors Jean-Claude Deret and Céline Léger. At the age of four, she appeared in her first movie. Since 1981, Z ...

as Pauline * Sylvain Deblé as Martin Kuypers *

Didier Bezace Didier Bezace (10 February 1946 – 11 March 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Theatre student at the International Dramatic University Centre in Nancy, Didier Bezace received lessons from Bernard Drot, Jean-Marie Patte, Gilles Sandier, ...

as Dominique Woessner *

Jacques Boudet Jacques Boudet (born 29 December 1939) is a French stage and screen actor. He had great success in the 1980s with his appearance in '' Exercises in Style'', and is featured in the film '' The Names of Love'' (2010). In cinema, he frequently a ...

as Senator Juillet *

François Chattot François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

as Falconetti,

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

* Gaëtan Vassart as Loïk *

Arly Jover Araceli "Arly" Jover is a Spanish actress. She is best known for her role as the villainous vampire Mercury in the 1998 superhero film ''Blade''. Life and career Araceli Jover was born in Melilla, a Spanish region. After living there for five ...

as Séverine Saint-Jean *

Eric Naggar The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

as the

French Prime Minister The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister i ...

Anne Azoulay Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

as Josepha *

Abdelhafid Metalsi Abdelhafid Metalsi (born 1969) is an Arabic actor, of Kabyle descent and Algerian ethnicity, who lives in France and was naturalized as French. He is best known for his starring role as the dedicated '' Capitaine'' Kader Chérif in the French poli ...

as Louis-Do * Christian Vautrin as Nemrod * François Vincentelli as Peralta, Minister of Budget * Stéphan Wojtowicz as the

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

Accolades

It premiered in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

where it won the Un Certain Regard

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Award. It received four Magritte Award nominations, winning three, including Best Foreign Film in Coproduction and Best Actor for Olivier Gourmet.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minister 2011 films 2011 drama films French political drama films Belgian drama films 2010s French-language films 2010s political drama films Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor César Award-winning performance Magritte Award winners 2010s French films