The Duchess of Langeais (Ne Touchez Pas La Hache)(Don't Touch the Axe) (2006)
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70% of critics liked it
(66 reviews) -
51% of users liked it
(841 ratings)
Guillaume Depardieu, Jeanne Balibar, and Michel Piccoli star in director Jacques Rivette's adaptation of the Balzac novella The Duchesse de Langeais, which tells the tale of a Parisian socialite who is romantically pursued by a Napoleonic war hero. The story begins as grieving French general… More Guillaume Depardieu, Jeanne Balibar, and Michel Piccoli star in director Jacques Rivette's adaptation of the Balzac novella The Duchesse de Langeais, which tells the tale of a Parisian socialite who is romantically pursued by a Napoleonic war hero. The story begins as grieving French general Armand de Montriveau (Depardieu) arrives at a Majorcan church to speak with French nun Antionette le Langeais (Balibar). General de Montriveau believes le Langeais to be a woman he once loved dearly, but eventually lost. As the pair is reunited under the watchful eyes of the presiding priest and mother superior, their romantic past gradually comes into focus. It was five years ago that bored socialite Antoinette first became enamored with the wounded soldier whose rousing tales of adventure offered exciting contrast to her highly refined lifestyle. Though she was married at the time, the coquettish cosmopolitan quickly fell under the spell of the commanding military man -- who vowed that very night that Antoinette would be his lover. As their romance grows more complicated, the passionate pair finds it increasingly difficult to deny the powerful connection that binds them. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jacques Rivette
- Written By
- Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Laurent
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Art House & International
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Feb 15, 2007 Wide
- Studio
- IFC First Take
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
It's charged with nuance yet ultimately an exercise in compressed literary adaptation.
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Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Maybe even Rivette himself is a little too delicate for this ferocious, intensely focused pair. But he's fascinated by them, and ultimately, he loves them.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The everyday moviegoer will find it as impenetrable as its heroine. But if you vibrate to nuances of style, if you enjoy tension gathering strength beneath terrible restraint, if you admire great acting, then you will.
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Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
The director guides the viewer through a sly consideration of near-sociopathic not-quite-lovers, one of whom finds refuge in religion, the other in romantic obsession.
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Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Duchess of Langeais is a stately costume drama of wrenching passions expressed in courtly phrases.
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Cast
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Jeanne Balibar
as Antoinette de Langeais
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Guillaume Depardieu
as Armand de Montriveau
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Bulle Ogier
as Princesse de Blamont-Chauvry
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Michel Piccoli
as Vidame de Pamiers
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Barbet Schroeder
as Le Duc de Grandlieu
- Anne Cantineau
- Mathias Jung
- Julie Judd
- Marc Barbé
- Nicolas Bouchaud
- Thomas Durand
- Beppe Chierici
- Victoria Zinny
- Remo Girone
- Paul Chevillard
