Heading South (2005)

70% of critics liked it
(82 reviews)
44% of users liked it
(1,676 ratings)

A trio of lonely, middle-aged American women finds their growing disillusionment with stateside men leading them to seek emotional comfort and sexual gratification in the arms of young Haitian man in Time Out director Laurent Cantet's emotionally incisive adaptation of Haitian-Canadian author Dany… More A trio of lonely, middle-aged American women finds their growing disillusionment with stateside men leading them to seek emotional comfort and sexual gratification in the arms of young Haitian man in Time Out director Laurent Cantet's emotionally incisive adaptation of Haitian-Canadian author Dany Laferrière's acclaimed short stories. Competing for the attentions of beautiful young Haitian native Legba (Ménothy Cesar) are 55-year-old Wellesley professor Ellen (Charlotte Rampling), sexually frustrated Canadian factory worker Sue (Louise Portal), and fortysomething Georgia blonde Brenda (Karen Young). The Hotel Petite Anse is a haven for older women seeking the companionship of younger men, and doyenne Ellen has come to establish herself as something of the queen bee of the popular island establishment. Despite the constant threat of Baby Doc Duvalier's thuggish henchmen, these lonely women risk their livelihoods to bask under the sun and forget the troubles of their daily lives as the line between exploiter and exploited becomes increasingly blurred. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 47 min.
Directed By: Laurent Cantet
Written By: Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet, Dany Laferrière
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jul 7, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Feb 6, 2007
Studio: Shadow Distribution

Critic Reviews

Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exploring female desire in a way films rarely do, Heading South is a film of sometimes subtle, sometimes blunt metaphors for the interaction of rich and pauperized countries.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The regal Rampling has never been finer, and Cesar makes his character surprisingly proud and sympathetic.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
The film offers something unusual, a tragic spectacle of normal, recognizable and utterly sympathetic people condemning themselves.
Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic
The movie avoids devolving into polemic by treating its characters as individuals.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
In its way, the film is a piercing indictment, though it makes its point without much screaming, hectoring or preening. It's quietly terrific.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
At 60, with three 2006 releases in the can, Rampling still seems an international treasure, a great camera subject and a truly daring actress.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Displays an almost Fassbinder-like sensitivity to emotional shifts in power
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
A trio of middle-aged white women from different backgrounds relish the tropical pleasures of '70s era Haiti, which includes local teenage gigolos, in writer/director Laurent Cantet's problematic filmic adaptation of three short stories by Dany Laferriere
Robert Davis, Paste Magazine
What Heading South says through careful omission or brief allusion is often more interesting than what it says on the clunky surface.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Erotic drama that probes lust, a police state and exploitation in the idyllic sunny climes of Haiti.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
It also boasts another rich performance by Charlotte Rampling who continues to grow more interesting as an actress.
Enrique Buchichio, Uruguay Total
Una película lúcida y algo desconcertante sobre los deseos y fantasías de un trío de mujeres en vacaciones, con el trasfondo de la dura realidad haitiana del régimen de Duvalier.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
The film triumphs as a prism for intimate, personal truths.
Kam Williams, EURWeb
This fascinating flick, using physical desire as a metaphor, examines political problems plaguing Haiti in the Seventies while simultaneously exploring pleasure purely from an older woman's point-of-view.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
This fascinating flick, using physical desire as a metaphor, examines political problems plaguing Haiti in the Seventies while simultaneously exploring pleasure purely from an older woman's point-of-view.
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com
an intense experience
Ryan Cracknell, Calgary Movies
Strong performances help balance out a sometimes slow moving plot in this serious drama. There's not a lot of extras on the DVD but the film itself is worth a gander.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
While an important message is at the movie's core, Cantet just can't find a way to make us care.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Hot sex in the Haitian sun is the main thrust of Laurent Cantet's Heading South, but melancholy and loneliness are the film's key emotions.
Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
... a shot of reality disguised as an umbrella drink, and is as uncomfortable an experience as having sand stuck in your swimming suit.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Heading South" takes place in Haiti in the late 1970's where Brenda(Karen Young), a 48 year-old woman, returns after a visit three years previously where she enjoyed a tryst with a Haitian boy, Legba(Mentothy Cesar), and enjoyed her first orgasm.… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Heading South" takes place in Haiti in the late 1970's where Brenda(Karen Young), a 48 year-old woman, returns after a visit three years previously where she enjoyed a tryst with a Haitian boy, Legba(Mentothy Cesar), and enjoyed her first orgasm. She stays at the same hotel and meets him again but is unpleasantly surprised to find Ellen(Charlotte Rampling), a 55 year-old professor, holding court. Ellen has spent the previous six summers at the same hotel to pay for sex with the young Haitian men who hang out at the beach. And she is not the only one...[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Heading South" is an ambiguous and matter-of-fact movie about the controversial subject of sex tourism. Had the American characters been men, then they would have been much less sympathetic. Here they are middle-aged women in the midst of the sexual revolution just before AIDS decimates Haiti. They are exploring their sexuality in a way that would have been impossible back home. They are balanced with the young Haitian men who engage with the women in an attempt to escape their desperate lives of poverty and repression under the brutal Duvalier regime.[/font]

Cast

            Charlotte Rampling as Ellen

            Karen Young as Brenda

            Louise Portal as Sue

            Menothy Cesar as Legba

            Lys Ambroise as Albert

            Jackenson Pierre Olmo Diaz as Eddy

            Wilfried Paul as Neptune

            Anotte Saint Ford as Limousine Girl

            Marie-Laurence Hérard as Airport Woman

            Michelet Cassis as Charlie

            Jean-Robert Pierre as Chico

            Jean Delinze Salomon as Jeremy

            Kettline Amy as Denise

            Daphné Destin as Lossita

            Guiteau Nestant as Frank

            Violette Vincent as Legba's Mother

            Ti Koka Wanga Negès as Orchestra

            Anathole Bonhomme as Policeman

            Michelet Ulysse as Bob

            Samuel Pierre Jean as Lagba's Friend

            Juckel Remilus as Lagba's Friend

            Gabrielle Lee as Irish Tourist

            Annette Snyder as American Tourist

            Geneviève Curt as Picnic Tourist

            Manolo Jerome as Drinks Seller

            Keniolt Alparad as Barman

            Jean-Pierre Francesco as Dancer

            Natacha Petit as Tina

            Dieunie Dorvilien as Tina's Friend

            Joël Medelus as Macoutes

            Jimmy Antoine as Macoutes

            Lorette Blanca as Chef

            Ariana Joseph as Chef

            Vanessa Michel as Girl In Yellow
See full cast

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Heading South (2005)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

Cast

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