Bon voyage (2003)

Director:

Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Writers:

Jean-Paul Rappeneau (scenario) and
Patrick Modiano (scenario) ...

Release Date:

16 April 2003 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

An actress, a writer, a student, and a government worker band together in an effort to escape Paris as the Nazis move into the city.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Bordeaux | Actress | Heavy Water | Student

Awards:

5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Isabelle Adjani	...	Viviane Denvers
Gérard Depardieu	...	Jean-Étienne Beaufort
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Camille
Yvan Attal	...	Raoul
Grégori Derangère	...	Frédéric Auger
Peter Coyote	...	Alex Winckler
Jean-Marc Stehlé	...	Professeur Kopolski
Aurore Clément	...	Jacqueline de Lusse
Xavier De Guillebon	...	Brémond
Edith Scob	...	Mme Arbesault
Michel Vuillermoz	...	M. Girard
Nicolas Pignon	...	André Arpel
Nicolas Vaude	...	Thierry Arpel
Pierre Diot	...	Maurice / Le gardien du studio
Pierre Laroche	...	L'érudit

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG | Czech Republic:15 | Italy:T | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Aletti Palace Hotel, Vichy, Allier, France

Company:

ARP Sélection

Trivia:

During lunch in the hotel Beaufort asks Frederic if he knew Viviane's father, "the hero"? 'Gerard Depardieu', who plays Beaufort, starred in both the original and the remake of the film Mon père, ce héros. (1991).

Soundtrack:

Bon voyage

Great fun, brilliant, superb

"Bon Voyage" has the fast pace that in some ways reminds me of the Indiana Jones/Star Wars films -- it's as if you're on a fast train or roller coaster.

It's billed as a romance, mystery, thriller, and farce; it's all of that and more including candid observations on the reactions of French society during the Nazi invasion at the start of WWII. And it's also an exhibition of juggling that involves 7 main characters. The scenes all seemed historically accurate (to my eyes) and gave an excellent feeling for the period.

All of the actors were well cast and gave great performances but IMO the most superb was that by Isabelle Adjani who played the role of an opportunistic, self-centered French movie star; not only did she quite convincingly play the role of a young actress perhaps half her age but she also played her amorous wiles convincingly yet in such a way that the audience sees she's only half serious and more complex as a person than just a gold digger. Her character and energy propel the film through from beginning to end. It wasn't until I read Roger Ebert's review that I discovered she was 48 years old at the time of the film. What beauty!!

I appreciated the ending -- it's satisfying but lets you write your own conclusion as to what happens to the main characters.

As another User Commenter observed -- do NOT arrive late; you need to be there from the opening scene. Good advice.

I gave it 9 of 10.