The Brøken (2008)

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis (written by)

Release Date:

15 November 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Face your fears.

Plot:

In London, the radiologist Gina McVey organizes a surprise birthday party to her father John McVey with her boyfriend Stefan Chambers...

Plot Keywords:

Mystery Woman | Car Accident | Radiologist | Nightmare | Broken Mirror

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lena Headey	...	Gina McVey
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Dr. Robert Zachman
Melvil Poupaud	...	Stefan Chambers
Michelle Duncan	...	Kate Coleman
Asier Newman	...	Daniel McVey
Richard Jenkins	...	John McVey
Daren Elliott Holmes	...	Simon the Garage Manager
Howard Ward	...	Jim
Damian O'Hare	...	Anthony
Dennis Banks	...	Doorman
In-Sook Chappell	...	Crash Nurse
Peta Longstaff	...	A&E Team
Ziad Alyan	...	A&E Team
Lucy Bingham	...	A&E Team
Marie Flood	...	A&E Team
Jessica Stratton	...	A&E Team
William Armstrong	...	Dr. Kenric
Kubrick Ellis	...	Ginger the Dog (as Kubrick)
Andrew Havill	...	Dr. Myers
Lobo Chan	...	Harry Lee
Ronnie Fox	...	Breakers Yard Man
Tara Hugo	...	Mary
Stan Ellis	...	Stan the Janitor
Rita Davies	...	Old Lady in Underground
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Natasha Alderslade	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Tom Collier	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Chris Wilson	...	Nervous Passenger (uncredited)

Directed by
Sean Ellis

Writing credits
Sean Ellis		(written by)

Produced by
Lene Bausager	....	producer
Yves Chevalier	....	associate producer
Franck Chorot	....	executive producer
Marshall Leviten	....	line producer
Winnie Li	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Guy Farley

Cinematography by
Angus Hudson

Film Editing by
Scott Thomas

Casting by
Alex Johnson
Bonnie Timmermann

Production Design by
Morgan Kennedy

Art Direction by
Gerard Bryan

Costume Design by
Vicki Russell
Victoria Russell

Makeup Department
Darren Evans	....	hair designer
Darren Evans	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Lisa Jordan	....	post-production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Phil Booth	....	first assistant director
Ben Harrison	....	second assistant director
Charlie Reed	....	third assistant director
Christian Rigg	....	additional second assistant director

Art Department
Peter Fentem	....	property master
Adam A. Makin	....	set constructor
Steven Morris	....	dressing props
Dave Reed	....	construction manager
Toby Riches	....	stand-by props
Chris Ulusele	....	lead stand-by props
Oli van der Vijver	....	props
Graham Ward	....	stand-by art director

Sound Department
Fabien Devillers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sean Hannah	....	assistant sound editor
Sue Harding	....	foley artist
Kourenkov Konstantin	....	sound assistant
Nigel Mills	....	sound designer
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	sound recordist
Yves-Marie Omnes	....	boom operator
Bruno Seznec	....	sound studio manager
Kallis Shamaris	....	supervising sound editor
Carlos Sotolongo	....	adr mixer
Rowena Wilkinson	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
John Rafique	....	special effects supervisor
Nick Smith	....	special effects technician
Chris Watson	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Tom Collier	....	visual effects supervisor
Stefan Drury	....	head of film effects: Lipsync Post
Lorea Hoye	....	visual effects producer
Carine Poussou	....	visual effects coordinator
Abigail Scollay	....	digital compositor
Bruno Sommier	....	visual effects shooting supervisor
Paul Venn Stirling	....	digital compositor: LipSync Post
Samantha Tracey	....	visual effects coordinator
Aurélie Villard	....	digital artist
Sheila Wickens	....	digital compositor
Blake Winder	....	digital compositor: LipSync Post

Stunts
Tom Aitken	....	stunts
Ray De-Haan	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Kirsti Abernethy	....	first assistant camera
Jacob Barrie	....	daily second assistant camera
Jeremy Braben	....	aerial director of photography
Stephen Burridge	....	still photographer
Sara Deane	....	second assistant camera
Brian Fawcett	....	electrician
Tom Gates	....	gaffer
Angus Hudson	....	camera operator
Toby Plaskitt	....	grip
Iwan Prys Reynolds	....	focus puller: second camera
Dan Thomas	....	best boy
Dan Thomas	....	rigging gaffer
Mark Tillie	....	still photographer
Brian Udoff	....	camera trainee: location shoot
Derek Walker	....	Steadicam operator
Fran Weston	....	second assistant camera
Julian White	....	gaffer
Sally Wright	....	camera trainee

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Devika Dass	....	additional wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Sophie Chatin	....	assistant editor
Ornella Del-Vecchio	....	digital conformation
Carlos Domeque	....	assistant editor
Jane Hodge	....	assistant editor
Frederic Jupin	....	digital conformation
Marjolaine Mispelaere	....	colorist

Music Department
Matt Biffa	....	music clearance

Transportation Department
Barry Goodwin	....	unit driver

Other crew
Carrie-Ann Banner	....	assistant production coordinator
Neil Bhatt	....	unit publicist
Shelley Marie Brown	....	promotions
Stephen Burridge	....	Directors Photographic Assistant
David Campbell-Bell	....	assistant location manager
Ghislaine Cauet-Martinotto	....	production coordinator
Jennifer DiZio	....	assistant to producer
Francesca Dowd	....	production coordinator
Courtney Getter	....	runner
Michael Harm	....	location manager
Christian Holden	....	production accountant
Aisling Lloyd	....	runner
Jo Sanders	....	assistant production accountant
Aurelia Thomas	....	assistant location manager

Thanks
Mathilde Charpentier	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Gaumont (presents)
• Left Turn Films
• Gaumont International
• Thriller
• Ugly Duckling Films

Distributors

• Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Films (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• After Dark Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Libero (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Golden Scene (2009) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Odeon (2009) (Greece) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• SP Films (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• TVA Films (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• Versus Entertainment (2008) (Spain) (all media)

Special Effects

• Elements Special Effects
• Lip Sync Post (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Buzz Factory, The  promotions
• Helicopter Film Services  aerial filming services provided by
• Panavision UK  aerial camera - Panavision Genesis
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by
• Production Copier Company  production equipment and services

Also Known As:

The Broken (France) (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:PG-12 | USA:R | France:U (with warning) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Bayswater, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

The inventive spelling of the title reads somewhat silly in Norwegian and Danish since the Ø in broken is a letter in the alphabet in these languages and sounds like the "u" in "burden". In addition "brøken" is a Norwegian word meaning "the fraction".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When talking about the case of Situs Inversus, she says "It's not uncommon... but it is rare."

Quotes:

[opening screen, small text on black]
Opening Quote: You have conquered and I yield.
Opening Quote: Yet henceforward art thou also dead - dead to the World, to Heaven, and to Hope!
Opening Quote: In me didst thou exist - and, in my death, see by this image, which is thine own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself.
Opening Quote: Edgar Allan Poe

Soundtrack:

Are You Drunk Enough?

Lena is cute as hell... that about sums it up

I rate it average, mostly because of the dark atmosphere and filming style. The rest of it was mostly really boring. Lena Headey is cute, British accent and all, Richard Jenkins is lovely as ever, even in a minor role as (of course) the dad, but the rest of the film simply makes no sense.

Back to the feel of the movie, the director used almost no soundtrack and instead low eerie sounds to produce feelings of uneasiness. He did it well, but for the entire length of the film, until I became annoyed with it. I don't want to spoil it by telling you what the movie is about, either; enough to say that if you are looking for a story that has some sort of meaning and conclusion, you picked the wrong film.

Bottom line: I fell asleep watching it. Granted, it was 3 o'clock.