The Town Is Quiet (La Ville est tranquille) (2000)

71% of critics liked it
(35 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(559 ratings)

Racism, violence, and drug abuse run rampant in this ensemble drama set in the southern French city of Marseilles. Michele (Ariane Ascaride) spends her days working in a fish factory, where she earns a living to support her unemployed husband and her teenage daughter Fiona (Christine Brucher). In… More Racism, violence, and drug abuse run rampant in this ensemble drama set in the southern French city of Marseilles. Michele (Ariane Ascaride) spends her days working in a fish factory, where she earns a living to support her unemployed husband and her teenage daughter Fiona (Christine Brucher). In addition to being the mother of a three-month-old, Fiona is also a heroin addict and a prostitute. Thanks to her habit, Fiona is increasingly unable to work, and Michele helps her daughter by exchanging sexual favors for money with Paul (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), an ex-dock worker with more than a few problems of his own. Michele gets drugs for Fiona from Gerard (Gerard Meylan), the sullen proprietor of a small bar who engages in such shady pastimes as political assassination. Meanwhile, Abderramane (Alexandre Ogou), a young African man recently out of prison, finds himself attracted to Vivienne (Julie-Marie Parmentier), a social worker married to a womanizing high-society snob whom she detests. Her spite towards her husband leads Vivienne to claim that she respects poor people who vote for the Far Right more than moneyed individuals who talk a lot about helping the poor but do almost nothing. Vivienne's frustration, coupled with that of the other characters, illustrates the overriding tension that threatens to build to society's collapse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Robert Guediguian
Written By: Robert Guediguian, Jean-Louis Milesi
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 17, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Mar 18, 2003
Studio: Diaphana Distribution

Critic Reviews

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune
For all of the apparent naturalness on screen, Guediguian's grim vision comes off as far too calculated.
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News
It's a strong viewing experience but definitely worth the effort.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
It's a pitiless film, uncompromising in what it shows us.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Always, one gets the sense that this film is coming from some place real, and terrible.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Many of the contemporary problems of the Western world ... are given unforgettably human faces.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Inflated with a doom that feels programmatic rather than earned.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Too trying and unwieldy to keep my attention.
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
One of the best French films of the year.
Saul Austerlitz, Film Threat
Strives toward greatness, toward a complete understanding of life in the roiling, unsettled, complex locale they call Marseilles, and its partial success must be applauded.
Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
Director Robert Guédiguian, who wrote the script with Jean-Louis Milesi and co-produced his film, delivers a story that's particularly French but also sadly universal.
Kurt Dahlke, Apollo Guide
This ville is far from tranquille, but the French twist on this emotional powerhouse keeps proceedings meditative as things go into the gutter.
Kim Morgan, Oregonian
It's got a lot on its plate, and sometimes it overindulges, loses focus and plays too obviously. Still, it manages to remain forceful and moving.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
More successful as sociological argument than as cinematic narrative.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
At two hours, this movie seems to drag on and on as the tragedies pile up. I found myself looking at my watch more than I was looking at the screen. If the town were a little more quiet, I would have taken a nap