Cinema Q: The Witnesses

France, 2007, 115 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Drama, Gay/Lesbian, GLBT, Historic, Social Issues
Language: French English Sub-Titles

March 21 - 27
Director André Téchiné's (Wild Reeds) fast-paced and compelling story features a wonderful cast and fascinating characters, set in Paris in the mid-1980s, an era of sexual freedom. Recent parents Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart), a novelist, and Mehdi (Sami Bouajila), a vice cop, both sleep with other partners because, as Sarah says, otherwise she would feel imprisoned in their marriage. Enjoying a summer holiday at the seashore, Sarah invites her friend Adrien (Michel Blanc), a middle-aged doctor, who brings his handsome young protégé Manu (Johan Libéreau). Surprisingly, Mehdi and Manu begin a passionate affair. But everything changes when a mysterious new disease appears. Acknowledging the reality of untimely death, the film nevertheless is strongly life-affirming.

DIRECTOR: Andre Techine
Principal Cast: Michel Blanc, Emmanuelle Béart, Sami Bouajila, Julie Depardieu, Johan Libéreau, Constance Dollé, Lorenzo Balducci, Alain Cauchi
US Distributor: Strand Releasing

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