Fauteuils d'orchestre
Encyclopedia
Fauteuils d'orchestre is a French film released in 2006 directed by Danièle Thompson
, which she co-scripted with her son, Christopher Thompson.
as Avenue Montaigne
and in the United Kingdom
and Australia
as Orchestra Seats.
was awarded a César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
for her performance. The movie was nominated for another four Césars and also received a shortlist nomination for a Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. The film is dedicated to Suzanne Flon
(Madame Roux in the cast), who died after the film was completed.
town of Mâcon
to Paris to start a new life, inspired by her grandmother, Madame Roux, who "always loved luxury". In Paris, she initially has trouble finding work, and spends one evening without shelter. She eventually gets a job waitressing in a small café, the Bar des Théâtres, even though the café had never hired female waitstaff, out of tradition. The owner hires Jessica only because he is expecting large crowds soon and needs staff. The café is in an area of Paris close by several artistic venues, including the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
and a concert hall, on Avenue Montaigne
. One of the backstage staff at the theatre, Claudie (Dani
), helps to welcome Jessica to Paris. While working at the café, Jessica meets a number of people all dealing with various life crises or changes:
All three face pivotal turning points in their lives on the same night, with Jessica as a thread between all three.
was the classical music technical advisor for the film, and performs the solo piano works for the soundtrack. The character of Jean-François Lefort in this film incorporates elements of Duchâble's own expressed attitudes towards the classical music world. In the film, Jean-François states his dislike for the stresses and formality of the classical music world, and wants to perform concerts for children and the ill. This is reflected from public statements that Duchâble had made in previous years.
Danièle Thompson
Danièle Thompson is a French film director and screenwriter. She is the daughter of film director Gérard Oury and actress Jacqueline Roma....
, which she co-scripted with her son, Christopher Thompson.
Release
The film was released in the United States and English-speaking CanadaBilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...
as Avenue Montaigne
Avenue Montaigne
Avenue Montaigne is a street in the 8th arrondisement of Paris, France-Name origin:Avenue Montaigne was originally called the allée des Veuves because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century. The current name comes from Michel...
and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
as Orchestra Seats.
Production
Valérie LemercierValérie Lemercier
Valérie Lemercier is a French actress, scriptwriter, director and singer.-Biography:Born in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime as the daughter of farmers, she grew up in Gonzeville and then studied at the Rouen Conservatoire - a dance, music and drama school. Lemercier made her screen debut in 1988, in the...
was awarded a César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
List of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Supporting Actress .-Winners:Adapted from the article , from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License....
for her performance. The movie was nominated for another four Césars and also received a shortlist nomination for a Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. The film is dedicated to Suzanne Flon
Suzanne Flon
Suzanne Flon was a French film actress and comedienne.-Early life:Her father was a railway worker and her mother crafted jewelry....
(Madame Roux in the cast), who died after the film was completed.
Cast
- Cécile de FranceCécile de FranceCécile de France is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as L'Art de la séduction and Irène , she gained international attention for her lead role in Haute Tension and Hereafter .- Career :Born in Namur, she left Belgium at the age of 17 to go to Paris where she...
- Jessica - Valérie LemercierValérie LemercierValérie Lemercier is a French actress, scriptwriter, director and singer.-Biography:Born in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime as the daughter of farmers, she grew up in Gonzeville and then studied at the Rouen Conservatoire - a dance, music and drama school. Lemercier made her screen debut in 1988, in the...
- Catherine Versen - Albert DupontelAlbert DupontelAlbert Dupontel is a French actor and film director. He started his career as a stand-up comedian...
- Jean-François Lefort - Laura MoranteLaura MoranteLaura Morante is an Italian film actress.She was born in Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto , and is the niece of renowned Italian novelist Elsa Morante.-Career:...
- Valentine Lefort - Claude BrasseurClaude Brasseur-Biography:He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He is the godson of Ernest Hemingway and the father of Alexandre Brasseur....
- Jacques Grumberg - Christopher Thompson - Frédéric Grumberg
- DaniDani (singer)Dani is a French actress and singer born on 1 October 1944 in Castres, Tarn, France. Dani was meant to have been France's Eurovision Song Contest 1974 entry, but President Georges Pompidou died in the week of the competition, so she never entered Eurovision properly...
- Claudie - Annelise HesmeAnnelise HesmeAnnelise Hesme is a French actress.Born in Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne, France on May 11, 1976, Hesme has acted in many films such as Tanguy , Plus beau jour de ma vie and Fauteuils d'orchestre , yet her biggest production so far has been a minor role in Alexander as Stateira...
- Valérie - François Rollin - Marcel
- Sydney PollackSydney PollackSydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
- Brian Sobinski - Daniel Benoin - Daniel Bercoff
- Françoise Lépine - Magali Garrel
- Guillaume GallienneGuillaume GallienneGuillaume Gallienne is French actor who has been a member of the Comédie-Française company from 1998. He made his film debut 1992 in Tableau d'honneur and he has starred in Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola....
- Pascal - Christian Hecq - Grégoire Bergonhe
- Julia Molkhou - Margot
- Suzanne FlonSuzanne FlonSuzanne Flon was a French film actress and comedienne.-Early life:Her father was a railway worker and her mother crafted jewelry....
- Madame Roux - Michel Vuillermoz - Félix
- Laurent Mouton - Serge
- Marc Rioufol - Claude Mercier
- Ève Ruggieri - herself
- Kaori Tsuji - Japanese journalist
- Franck Amiack - translator
- Laurent Petitgirard - orchestra conductor
- Thierry Métaireau - theatre director
Plot
Jessica has moved from her small BurgundianBourgogne
Burgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...
town of Mâcon
Mâcon
Mâcon is a small city in central France. It is prefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department, in the region of Bourgogne, and the capital of the Mâconnais district. Mâcon is home to over 35,000 residents, called Mâconnais.-Geography:...
to Paris to start a new life, inspired by her grandmother, Madame Roux, who "always loved luxury". In Paris, she initially has trouble finding work, and spends one evening without shelter. She eventually gets a job waitressing in a small café, the Bar des Théâtres, even though the café had never hired female waitstaff, out of tradition. The owner hires Jessica only because he is expecting large crowds soon and needs staff. The café is in an area of Paris close by several artistic venues, including the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
and a concert hall, on Avenue Montaigne
Avenue Montaigne
Avenue Montaigne is a street in the 8th arrondisement of Paris, France-Name origin:Avenue Montaigne was originally called the allée des Veuves because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century. The current name comes from Michel...
. One of the backstage staff at the theatre, Claudie (Dani
Dani (singer)
Dani is a French actress and singer born on 1 October 1944 in Castres, Tarn, France. Dani was meant to have been France's Eurovision Song Contest 1974 entry, but President Georges Pompidou died in the week of the competition, so she never entered Eurovision properly...
), helps to welcome Jessica to Paris. While working at the café, Jessica meets a number of people all dealing with various life crises or changes:
- Catherine is an actress who has been pigeonholed by her role in a popular TV soap opera and who yearns to do more artistically rewarding work. She is alternating between her TV soap opera and a production of a Georges FeydeauGeorges FeydeauGeorges Feydeau was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his many lively farces.-Biography:Georges Feydeau was born in Paris, the son of novelist Ernest-Aimé Feydeau and Léocadie Bogaslawa Zalewska. At the age of twenty, Feydeau wrote his first comic...
play, rarely getting time for sleep except in taxicabs. A new opportunity arises when the American film director Brian Sobinski arrives in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to cast a new film based on the life of Simone de BeauvoirSimone de BeauvoirSimone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
. - Jean-François is a world-renowned pianist who wants nothing more than to share his playing with those who would appreciate it least, and to get away from formal classical music concerts. This disconcerts his wife Valentine, who is also his manager, because of all the planning that she has done for his career.
- Jacques is an art collector who has decided to sell off his collection towards the end of his life. He and his son Frédéric have a somewhat strained relationship, not helped by the fact that Jacques is in a relationship with the much younger Valérie, with whom Frédéric himself once had an affair. Frédéric is also just separated from his wife.
All three face pivotal turning points in their lives on the same night, with Jessica as a thread between all three.
Classical music reference
The French pianist François-René DuchâbleFrançois-René Duchâble
François-René Duchâble is a French pianist. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and at the age of 13 won the institution's first prize in piano. Three years later, he placed 11th at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, and in 1973 he won the Prix de la Fondation Sacha Schneider...
was the classical music technical advisor for the film, and performs the solo piano works for the soundtrack. The character of Jean-François Lefort in this film incorporates elements of Duchâble's own expressed attitudes towards the classical music world. In the film, Jean-François states his dislike for the stresses and formality of the classical music world, and wants to perform concerts for children and the ill. This is reflected from public statements that Duchâble had made in previous years.