''Ariane's Thread'' () is a 2014 French

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

(described by the director as a 'fantaisie') directed by

Robert Guédiguian Robert Jules Guédiguian (; born 3 December 1953) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Most of his films star Ariane Ascaride and Jean-Pierre Darroussin. Life and career Guédiguian is the son of a German mother and an Arm ...

and written by Guédiguian and Serge Valletti.

Cast

Ariane Ascaride Ariane Ascaride (born 10 October 1954) is a French actress and screenwriter. She has appeared in films such as '' Marius et Jeannette'' (''Marius and Jeannette''), '' Ma vraie vie à Rouen'' (''The True Story of My Life in Rouen''; USA, ''My Li ...

as Ariane *

Jacques Boudet Jacques Boudet (15 April 1935 – 15 July 2024) was 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). Career In cinema, ...

as Jack *

Jean-Pierre Darroussin Jean-Pierre Darroussin (born 4 December 1953) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was born in Courbevoie, France. Theater Filmography Actor *1992: '' Riens du tout'' (directed by Cédric Klapisch starring Fabrice Luchini, Daniel Berlioux ...

as Taxi Driver / Stage Director *

Anaïs Demoustier Anaïs Aude Marie Michèle Demoustier (; born 29 September 1987) is a French actress. She was nominated for Most Promising Actress twice at the César Awards, in 2009 for '' Les Grandes Personnes'' and in 2011 for '' Living on Love Alone''. In 2 ...

as Martine / Actress * Youssouf Djaoro as Night Watchman * Adrien Jolivet as Raphaël * Gérard Meylan as Denis *

Lola Naymark Lola Naymark (born 5 April 1987) is a French film and television actress, writer and director. In 2005 she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in ''A Common Thread'' but lost to Sara Forestier. Early and ...

as Lola *

Judith Magre Judith Magre (born 20 November 1926) is a French actress, born in Montier-en-Der, Haute-Marne. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magre, Judith 1926 births Living people French film actresses French television ...

as The Turtle (voice)

Plot summary

It is Ariane's birthday and she finds herself alone in her quiet home. Everything is ready for a party but the guests are not there. She gets in her car and sets off for the city. At the harbour bridge she meets a young man Raphaël on a scooter who takes her to a seaside restaurant run by Denis. Raphaël abandons her for his girlfriend Lola, so she calls a taxi to go back to where she had left her car but it has been towed away. After going to an ATM to get money to pay the taxi driver she is robbed. She gets back to the beach restaurant and gets to know customer Jacques and the watchman Marcial; she is taken on to work at the café. The day sees further adventures... but with a happy ending.

Background

Robert Guédiguian admitted to several references for the film, including

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

(the first text read by Jack on the necessity of myths),

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

(the text on the eternal beauty of the world),

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

(the song 'Comme on fait son lit, on se couche') as well as poet

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and song-writer

Jean Ferrat Jean Ferrat (born Jean Tenenbaum; 26 December 1930 – 13 March 2010) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. He specialized in singing poetry, particularly that of Louis Aragon. Biography Ferrat was born in Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine, the you ...

. He also wanted to pay tribute to several strands of cinema: '' Drôle de drame'' (Carné and Prévert), '' Vivre sa vie'' (Godard), Fellini's ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...

'' with the fountain scene, to Pier Paolo Pasolini (the pilgrims who arrive as in his

Gospel of Saint Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ), Jesus, his resurrection, and his mission to the wor ...

Reception

Ronnie Scheib of ''Variety'' had this to say: "While 'Ariane’s Thread' evokes the poetic realism of the 1930s French populist cinema of Feydeau, Prévert, Vigo and early Renoir, it does so less in terms of an organic visual style and more in terms of its expression of a shared ethos." Jerome Cabanel, writing for ''The Hollywood Reporter'', considered "Yet while there aren’t too many rewards offered at the end of the maze [], there’s something pleasurable in soaking in the warm atmosphere and touching characters, with the director’s trusty cast indulging in a series of easygoing conversations and playful bickering []."

References

External links

* 2014 films 2010s French-language films French fantasy comedy-drama films 2010s fantasy comedy-drama films Films directed by Robert Guédiguian Films set in Marseille 2010s French films French-language fantasy comedy-drama films {{2010s-France-film-stub