Ne touchez pas la hache (2007)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jacques Rivette

Writers:

Honoré de Balzac (novel) and
Pascal Bonitzer (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

In Majorca, in 1823, a French general, Armand de Montriveau, overhears a cloistered nun singing in a chapel; he insists on speaking to her...

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Letter | General | Kidnapping | Ball

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jeanne Balibar	...	Antoinette de Langeais
Guillaume Depardieu	...	Armand de Montriveau
Bulle Ogier	...	Princesse de Blamont-Chauvry
Michel Piccoli	...	Vidame de Pamiers
Anne Cantineau	...	Clara de Sérizy
Marc Barbé	...	Marquis de Ronquerolles
Thomas Durand	...	De Marsay
Nicolas Bouchaud	...	De Trailles
Mathias Jung	...	Julien
Julie Judd	...	Lisette
Victoria Zinny	...	La mère supérieure
Remo Girone	...	Le confesseur au couvent
Beppe Chierici	...	L'alcade
Paul Chevillard	...	Duc de Navarreins
Barbet Schroeder	...	Duc de Grandlieu

Also Known As:

The Duchess of Langeais (Canada: English title) (USA) (new title)
Don't Touch the Axe (International: English title)
La duchessa di Langeais (Italy)

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14A | USA:Unrated | France:U | Argentina:13

Company:

Pierre Grise Productions

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2007 (#10, tied with "Sang sattawat" and "Hei yan quan")

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Armand is reading the final letter of the Duchess, a wall socket is visible.

Movie Connections:

Version of La duchesse de Langeais (1995) (TV)

A Cinematic Sleeping Pill

Okay, I'll admit it. I've only seen a couple of Jacques Rivette's films apart from this one (Celine & Julie Go Boating & Le Belle Noisettes). I had heard prior to seeing those that Rivette was always one to make it difficult for audiences (timing being one:a standard Rivette film clocks in no less than two and a half hours). 'Ne Touchez Pas La Hache' is a beautifully filmed exercise cinematic narcolepsy. The characters seem to sleepwalk their way throughout this film. A few of the other cinephiles in attendance seemed to get their jollies from this film. To each their own, I say. I guess I should see some more of Rivette's work before I toss in the towel on him (I still prefer Trufaut,or even Goddard,among the French "new wave" directors).