oscar jubis
08-09-2007, 08:55 PM
Poison Friends is the first theatrical feature directed by Emmanuel Bourdieu, previouly known primarily as the scriptwriter of Arnaud Desplechin's My Sex Life and Esther Kahn. The film is set in the world of Parisian academia and concerns a quartet of college kids with literary aspirations. The pivotal character is Andre, a seemingly self-assured young man with the charisma and the looks of The Doors' Jim Morrison who uses deceit and deception to manipulate the vocational and romantic lives of his impressionable peers. The characters are nicely drawn by Bourdieu, who seems quite familiar with the intellectual milieu. The script uses dry humor to ridicule some of the excesses of this environment. Malik Zidi was singled out as Most Promising Actor at the 2007 Cesars but it was Thibault Vincon (as Andre) who left a most indelible impression on me. Natacha Regnier provides brilliant support as a librarian much admired by a couple of the boys.
Poison Friends opened the International Critics' Week at Cannes 2006 and won its Grand Prize. The film had its American premiere at the 2006 New York Film Festival and opened commercially in the US in 2007.
Poison Friends opened the International Critics' Week at Cannes 2006 and won its Grand Prize. The film had its American premiere at the 2006 New York Film Festival and opened commercially in the US in 2007.