''Équateur'' (, "

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

") is a 1983 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

, starring Francis Huster. Based on a 1933 novel by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

, it was screened out of competition at the

1983 Cannes Film Festival The 36th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 19 May 1983. American author William Styron served as jury president for the main competition. Japanese filmmaker Shōhei Imamura won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for the dra ...

Plot

The film is set in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

in the 1930s, then part of

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzav ...

. A Frenchman comes to

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

to work for a timber company; he falls for a mysterious white woman who is involved with a murder.

Cast

* Francis Huster – Timar * Barbara Sukowa – Adele *

Reinhard Kolldehoff Reinhard Kolldehoff (29 April 1914 – 18 November 1995) was a German film actor. He appeared in 140 films between 1941 and 1988. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Gasman'' (1941) - Polizeibeamter (uncr ...

– Eugene Schneider *

François Dyrek François Dyrek (16 August 1933 – 17 December 1999) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 140 films and television shows between 1964 and 1999. Partial filmography * ''L'assassin viendra ce soir'' (1964) – Un membre du gang des ...

– Superintendent *

Jean Bouise Jean Bouise (3 June 1929 – 6 July 1989) was a French actor. He was born in Le Havre. In the 1950s he helped to found Théâtre de la Cité, and was a player in the company. He entered films in the 1960s, and played a supporting roles in ...

– Public prosecutor *

Julien Guiomar Julien Guiomar (3 May 1928 in Morlaix, Finistère, Brittany – 22 November 2010 in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine), was a French film actor. The actor had retired to the Dordogne at Monpazier. The person who incarnated Colonel Vincent in " ...

– Bouilloux *

Roland Blanche Roland Blanche (31 December 1943 – 13 September 1999) was a French actor. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche, Roland 1943 births 1999 deaths People from Choisy-le-Roi Male actors from Île-de-France French male fi ...

– one-eyed man * Murray Gronwall – the forester * Stéphane Bouy – the pedlar * Franck-Olivier Bonnet – the man from Lyon

Production

''Équateur'' was based on the 1933 novel ''Le Coup de lune'' ('' Tropic Moon'') by

. It was written and directed by Serge Gainsbourg, who also composed the music.

Cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

was by Willy Kurant. The film was produced by Gabonese filmmaker Charles Mensah and French producer Alain Poiré.

Release

''Équateur'' was screened out of competition at the

. It was also an official selection at the 1983

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

and 1984

Göteborg Film Festival Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the large ...

Accolades

The film was nominated for the Best Music Award at the 1984

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Equateur (film) 1983 films French drama films Gabonese drama films 1980s French-language films 1983 drama films Films directed by Serge Gainsbourg Films based on Belgian novels Films based on works by Georges Simenon Films scored by Serge Gainsbourg Films set in Gabon 1980s French films