The Witnesses
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
André Téchiné
Emmanuelle Béart
Michel Blanc
Sami Bouajila
Julie Depardieu
Johan Libéreau
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Manu is 20 years old when he arrives in Paris to look for a job. Initially, he moves in with his sister, Julie, who rents a room in a sleazy hotel. Julie's life revolves around music. She is training to be an opera singer and tries hard to partition herself off from her ebullient brother. Manu is a night bird. One night he meets Adrien, an extrovert and cultivated gay doctor in his early 50s with whom he strikes up a carefree, platonic friendship. Adrien soon introduces Manu to his circle of friends. Shortly afterwards, Adrien takes Manu for a boat trip on the Mediterranean with a young married couple: Mehdi, who is a cop, and Sarah, a writer. The recent birth of their first child seems only to have made this unconventional couple even happier together, but appearances are deceptive. For Mehdi, the zealous police inspector, paternity has magnified his tyrannical side and this leads to excessive behavior both at work and in his sex-life. Meanwhile, Sarah is unable to come to terms with being a mother, feeling that it encroaches on her identity as a woman. Unable to bond with her baby, she immerses herself in her writing in a desperate quest for inspiration. Manu's arrival in Paris and his intrusion into Julie, Adrien, Mehdi and Sarah's lives creates shockwaves in all their relationships. Unintentionally and unknowingly, Manu forces them confront their true desires.
Director
André Téchiné
Cast
Emmanuelle Béart
Michel Blanc
Sami Bouajila
Julie Depardieu
Johan Libéreau
Constance Dolle
Alain Cauchi
Lorenzo Balducci
Raphaëline Goupilleau
Michèle Moretti
Bertrand Soulier
Jacques Nolot
Xavier Beauvois
Maia Simon
Amael Ibarguen
Oscar Aima
Vladimir Alexinsky
Satya Dusaugey
Marie-julie Blanchet
Jean-marie Bessett
Gilbert Desveaux
Crew
Michele Abbe
Michele Abbe
Laurent Balandras
Saïd Ben Saïd
Albert Blasius
Jean-pierre Chevallier
Dominique Colladant
Yvon Crenn
Anne-sophie Domergue
Christophe Duroyaume
Marie Fischer
Cedric Gerard
Martine Giordano
Abraham Goldblat
Laurent Guyot
Julien Hirsch
Cyril Holtz
Marie-julie Maille
Pascal Martin
Jean-paul Mugel
Michel Nasri
Daniela Romano
Philippe Sarde
Frederic Souquet
Claudine Taulere
André Téchiné
Claire Tong
Dominique Trottein
Francis Wargnier
Catharine Werner-schmit
Khadija Zeggaï
Viviane Zingg
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States August 2007
Released in United States February 15, 2008
Released in United States February 2007
Released in United States January 2008
Released in United States October 2007
Released in United States on Video June 24, 2008
Released in United States Winter February 1, 2008
Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (Competition) February 8-18, 2007.
Shown at Chicago International Film Festival October 4-17, 2007.
Shown at Edinburgh International Film Festival (Directors' Showcase) August 15-26, 2007.
Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (World Cinema Now) January 3-14, 2008.
Released in United States January 2008 (Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (World Cinema Now) January 3-14, 2008.)
Released in United States February 2007 (Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (Competition) February 8-18, 2007.)
Released in United States Winter February 1, 2008
Released in United States February 15, 2008 (Los Angeles)
Released in United States on Video June 24, 2008
Released in United States August 2007 (Shown at Edinburgh International Film Festival (Directors' Showcase) August 15-26, 2007.)
Released in United States October 2007 (Shown at Chicago International Film Festival October 4-17, 2007.)
