''Un aller simple'' (''One-way ticket'') is a French film directed by

Laurent Heynemann Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

, adapted from the novel of the same name by

Didier Van Cauwelaert Didier Van Cauwelaert (born 29 July 1960) is a French author of Belgian descent who was born in Nice. In 1994 his novel '' Un Aller simple'' won the Prix Goncourt. In 1997 he was awarded the Grand prix du théâtre de l’Académie française. ...

, which had won the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

in 1994.

Plot

Aziz ( Lorant Deutsch) was born in France, the child of unknown parents. Gathered up by gypsies from the area north of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, he has grown up as a Moroccan national. Jean-Pierre (

Jacques Villeret Jacques Villeret (; 6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy ''Le Dîner de Cons''. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious ...

), is a civil servant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is being cheated on by his wife who is having an affair with his boss and he no longer feels attached to his Parisian life. It is given to Jean-Pierre to 're-integrate' Aziz, a stolen baby, raised by gypsies, neither Arab nor gypsy, into his 'native' country of Morocco. Aziz is an interesting client for him. But Aziz is just a young man without sure roots who has never set foot in Morocco, though he affects to belong to the tribe of the ''Grey Men of Irghiz'' who live in a forbidden city high in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

. And the two rootless men make the acquaintance of the sparkling Valerie (

Barbara Schulz Barbara Schulz is a French actress who won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti in 2001. She was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for the 1999 film ''La Dilettante''. For her performances on the stage, Schulz has been nominated ...

) who will act as their guide.

Cast

as Jean-Pierre *

as Valerie *

Lorànt Deutsch Lorànt Deutsch (; born László Matekovics on 27 October 1975), is a French actor and writer. Deutsch was born in Alençon to a Hungarian-Jewish father and a Romanian mother. An ardent Catholic, Deutsch says he is a royalist. In 2005, Deutsch ...

as Aziz *

Jean Benguigui Jean Benguigui (born 8 April 1944 in Oran) is a French actor. He is of Jewish-Algerian descent. In 2006 and 2007 he played the role of impresario Cartoni in a new adaptation of the operetta Le Chanteur de Mexico at the Théâtre du Châtelet ...

as Place Vendôme *

Eva Ionesco Eva Ionesco (born 18 July 1965) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. She is the daughter of Romanian-French photographer Irina Ionesco and came to international prominence as a child model after being featured in her mother's wo ...

as Clémentine *

Melissa Mars Melissa Mars is a French actress and singer-songwriter. She appeared alongside John Travolta in ''From Paris With Love'' produced by Luc Besson (''Nikita, Lucy''). She won a best supporting actress award for her performance in ''The Cabining'', ...

as Lila

References

External links

* 2001 films 2000s French-language films 2001 comedy-drama films French comedy-drama films Films about orphans Films based on French novels Films scored by Bruno Coulais 2000s French films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub