Capitaine Conan
Encyclopedia
Capitaine Conan is a 1996 French film that is directed by Bertrand Tavernier
. The film is based on the 1934 Prix Goncourt
-winning novel Captain Conan (Fr. Capitaine Conan) by Roger Vercel
.
, mobilized while ordered not to fight. They are subject to attacks from Romanian Bolsheviks to which they cannot take pre-emptive action. They are tired of guard duty and state dinners. Their anger causes them to resort to crimes. The crimes cause court-martial
proceedings. Captaine Conan and Lt. Norbert team up to save the life of a man who is sentenced to death for a desertion that he claims he didn't commit.
, even though there are more reviews listed.
Janet Maslin, of The New York Times
, said that Mr. Torreton powerfully embodies the film's central questions of what a fighter becomes without combat and where the values inherent in savage battle may lead. Ken Fox, of TV Guide
, said beautiful as it is brutal and that it is one of the best war films of recent years. Alex Albanese, of Box Office, said that the film is finely wrought—as hard, precise and heartbreaking as its title character.
for Best Director and Phillippe Torreton won the César Award for Best Actor. The film was nominated for Best French Film at the César Awards. The film was nominated for Film Presented at the Telluride Film Festival
.
, and has a 2.0-channel PCM audio mix. The only special feature on the DVD is Un Film Sur Bertrand Tavernie, a fifty-four minute documentary about the making of the film. The release date of the DVD was December 19, 2000.
Bertrand Tavernier
Bertrand Tavernier is a French director, screenwriter, actor, and producer.-Life and career:Tavernier was born in Lyon, the son of Geneviève and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, several years president of the French PEN club. Tavernier wanted to become a filmmaker since the age of thirteen...
. The film is based on the 1934 Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
-winning novel Captain Conan (Fr. Capitaine Conan) by Roger Vercel
Roger Vercel
Roger Vercel was a French writer.-Biography :He was fascinated by the sea and marine life .The World War I interrupted his studies of letters...
.
Plot
After World War I, French infantry officer Capitaine Conan and the men that he commands find it difficult to remain in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, mobilized while ordered not to fight. They are subject to attacks from Romanian Bolsheviks to which they cannot take pre-emptive action. They are tired of guard duty and state dinners. Their anger causes them to resort to crimes. The crimes cause court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
proceedings. Captaine Conan and Lt. Norbert team up to save the life of a man who is sentenced to death for a desertion that he claims he didn't commit.
Cast
- Philippe TorretonPhilippe TorretonPhilippe Torreton is a French actor.-Biography:Born in Rouen, to a teacher mother, and fireman father, Torreton grew up in a suburb of the city...
: Conan - Samuel Le BihanSamuel Le BihanSamuel Le Bihan is a French actor, notable for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf.-Cinema:* 1993: Promenades d'été, directed by René Féret* 1993: La place d'un autre, directed by René Féret...
: Norbert - Bernard Le Coq : Lieutenant de Scève
- Catherine Rich : Madeleine Erlane
- François BerléandFrançois BerléandFrançois Berléand is a French actor.Berléand was born in Paris, France of . He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in Le Bureau, the French version of The Office, produced by Canal+. He released a book about his childhood in 2006, Le fils de l'homme invisible...
: Commandant Bouvier - Claude RichClaude RichClaude Rich is a French actor. He began his career as a theater actor, before his film debut in 1955 with René Clair, Les Grandes Manoeuvres.He married the actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959...
: General Pitard de Lauzier - Cécile VassortCécile VassortCécile Vassort is a French film actress. She has in 45 films between 1963 and 2001.-Selected filmography:* The Invitation * Deux hommes dans la ville * The Clockmaker * Malicious Pleasure...
: Georgette - André Falcon : Colonel Voirin
- Claude Brosset : Father Dubreuil
- Crina Muresan : Ilyana
- Cécile VassortCécile VassortCécile Vassort is a French film actress. She has in 45 films between 1963 and 2001.-Selected filmography:* The Invitation * Deux hommes dans la ville * The Clockmaker * Malicious Pleasure...
: Georgette - François Levantal : Forgeol
- Pierre Val : Jean Erlane
- Roger Knobelspiess : Major Cuypene
- Frédéric PierrotFrédéric PierrotFrédéric Pierrot is a French actor. He has appeared in over 75 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film Tell Me I'm Dreaming, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival....
: Conductor - Jean-Claude Calon : Officier greffier Loisy
- Laurent Schilling : Beuillard
- Jean-Yves Roan : Rouzic
- Philippe Héliès : Grenais
- Tonio Descanvelle : Caboulet
- Eric Savin : Gunsmith
- Olivier Loustau : Mahut
- Jean-Marie Juan : Lethore
- Jean-Christophe Chavanon : sentinelle de Scève
- Christophe Calmel : soldat 2 de Scève
- J.P. Monaghan : English major
- Laurent Bateau : soldier Perrin
- Tervelt Nikolov : soldier bulgare
- Eric Dufay : Lieutenant Fideli
- Philippe Frécon : Cook Ménard
- Diana Radu : serveuse café Sokol
- Michel Charvaz : sergent café Sokol
- Patrick Delage : serveur Messinge
- Patrick Brossard : Riquiou
- Yvon Crenn : ordonnance Floch
- Christophe Odent : Cabanel
- Franck Jazédé : Havrecourt
- Dominique Compagnon : Morel
- Pascal Guérin : Soldier latecomer
- Christophe Vandevelde : soldier classe II
- Maria Pitarresi : infirmière train
- Patrice Verdeil : soldier "quart d'eau"
- Frédéric DiefenthalFrédéric DiefenthalFrédéric Diefenthal is a French actor and director.-Biography:Diefenthal began acting in the early 1990s; he held a main role in the French television series Le juge est une femme , where he first gained a degree of notoriety...
: sergent gare Bucarest - Daniel Langlet : High School Director
- Luminiţa AnghelLuminita AnghelLuminiţa Anghel is a Romanian singer. Anghel, along with the percussion band Sistem, represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, with the song Let Me Try, where they were ranked third in the final, Romania's best ever result at Eurovision...
: singer tavern - Hubert Ravel : soldiert patrouille Norbert
- Philippe Lelièvre and Bruno Therasse : gendarmes whorehouse
- Laurent Labasse : Raoul Fourrier
- Eric Thannberger : Louberac
- Sandrine Desio : Fréhel
Reception
The film has two out of three fresh reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, even though there are more reviews listed.
Janet Maslin, of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, said that Mr. Torreton powerfully embodies the film's central questions of what a fighter becomes without combat and where the values inherent in savage battle may lead. Ken Fox, of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, said beautiful as it is brutal and that it is one of the best war films of recent years. Alex Albanese, of Box Office, said that the film is finely wrought—as hard, precise and heartbreaking as its title character.
Awards
Bertrand Tavernier won the César AwardCésar Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
for Best Director and Phillippe Torreton won the César Award for Best Actor. The film was nominated for Best French Film at the César Awards. The film was nominated for Film Presented at the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
.
DVD release
The DVD is in French with English subtitles, widescreenWidescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
, and has a 2.0-channel PCM audio mix. The only special feature on the DVD is Un Film Sur Bertrand Tavernie, a fifty-four minute documentary about the making of the film. The release date of the DVD was December 19, 2000.
External links
- Capitaine Conan at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...