Here’s another unexpected remake headed our way. Bonjour Tristesse, the directorial debut by Durga Chew-Bose, is a new adaptation of Francois Sagan’s novella which was previously adapted into a 1958 movie directed by the great Otto Preminger and starring Deborah Kerr and Jean Seberg. Chew-Bose’s film is led by Claes Bang, Chloe Sevigny, Lily McInerny (of the little-seen Palm Trees and Power Lines), Nailia Harzoune, and Aliocha Schneider.
The coming-of-age film set in the south of France finds a young girl’s summer vacation with her widowed father and his new love disrupted by the arrival of a hostile guest. Attempts to drive the so-called family friend away only have tragic consequences.
The film marks Chew-Bose’s directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay.
Reviews were mixed out of TIFF last year, but I find it hard to argue with the fantastic source material and the stellar casting. I’m looking forward to this one.
SYNOPSIS: At the height of summer, 18-year-old Cécile (McInerny) is languishing by the French seaside with her handsome father, Raymond (Bang), and his girlfriend, Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune), when the arrival of her late mother’s friend, Anne (Sevigny), changes everything. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Cécile’s world is threatened, and, desperate to regain control, she sets in motion a plan to drive Anne away with tragic consequences. An adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s unforgettable coming-of-age novel by the same title, Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse masterfully captures the complexity of relationships between women and how they wield influence over one another’s fates.
Bonjour Tristesse opens in theaters on May 2nd via Greenwich Entertainment.
