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MOVIES / ON DVD / LA PETITE LILI
La Petite Lili

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La Petite Lili (2004)

68%
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100%
N/A
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68 %
Reviews Counted: 31 Fresh: 21  Rotten:10 Average Rating: 6.2/10
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Synopsis:
Handsome, young, naïve, and insufferably pretentious, amateur filmmaker Julien (Robinson Stévenin) and his famous actress mother, Mado (Nicole Garcia), are locked into a power-play at their country house. Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), the daughter of the caretaker, is in love with Julien.... [More]
Handsome, young, naïve, and insufferably pretentious, amateur filmmaker Julien (Robinson Stévenin) and his famous actress mother, Mado (Nicole Garcia), are locked into a power-play at their country house. Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), the daughter of the caretaker, is in love with Julien. But Julien's girlfriend, Lili (Ludivine Sagnier), is irresistibly drawn to the successful feature-film director Brice (Bernard Giraudeau), Mado's longtime lover and the representation of everything Julien hates about filmmaking. This chaos gets drawn out in achingly beautiful, color-drenched shots of blue skies, ocean, trees, and the earthy, ethereal Sagnier in full flower. It's a decidedly post-modern interpretation of Chekhov's THE SEAGULL, by esteemed film director Claude Miller (ALIAS BETTY), wherein the plot eventually doubles back on itself to become a self-reflexive study of filmmaking. Though Miller has a lot to say about the compromises of art, he makes sure his characters are never mere mouthpieces: they all interact like real people, with a refreshing amount of tender affection for one another. The film has all the qualities of the best French imports: warmth, intelligence, humor, and liberal dashes of sex and critical theory. It's the sort of foreign film that originally made foreign films popular in America. Sagnier is clearly her generation's Brigitte Bardot, and Julie Depardieu (Gerard's daughter) proves herself a major talent in a memorable side role. [Less]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Ludivine Sagnier, Nicole Garcia, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Robinson Stévenin, Julie Depardieu

Director: Claude Miller
Screenwriter: Claude Miller, Julien Boivent
Story: Anton Chekhov

DVD Info

Release:

Nov 8, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region (unknown)
  • Keep Case
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Biography
  • Interviews

Text/Photo Gallery:

  • Trailer Gallery

Reviews

 
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Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:17 AM
Derek Adams
Time Out
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those hoping for a dramatic finish are going to come up short

Full Review | Comment
07/23/05 10:18 PM
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/18/05 03:51 AM
Dallas Morning News
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It's a simple story, but it's sort of satisfying to see the way they come full circle, using 'the movie within the movie' concept to wrap everything up.

Full Review | Comment
06/17/05 12:59 PM
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
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A rather slight work, but especially for those acquainted with 'The Seagull' it should prove an intriguing exercise in translation.

Full Review | Comment
06/13/05 11:20 AM
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
N/R

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05/11/05 03:15 AM
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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The understated, unsettling sexuality of Ludivine Sagnier vamps James Deanish-Robinson Stévenin in Claude Miller's attractive adaptation of Checkov's The Seagull.

Full Review | Comment
03/28/05 03:47 PM
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
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Miller crafts a warmly, but not entirely optimistic fable about the salutary power of lazy afternoons, meals taken at dusk beneath outdoor tents and, ultimately, of moviemaking itself.

Full Review | Comment
03/24/05 03:24 PM
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly
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Sagnier plays her sensuality for all it's worth... which is undisguised and considerable, and provides the glue for a tale that could easily come apart.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/05 01:49 PM
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
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A film that adapts the basic Russian classic and then breaks away in more ways than just the setting.

Full Review | Comment
01/14/05 02:42 PM
Marta Barber
Miami Herald
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12/13/04 10:15 PM
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com
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Miller, a French director of dry humor and great skill, has taken the Chekhov outline and updated it to present-day France, substituting the cinema for literature.

Full Review | Comment
12/10/04 03:31 PM
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Like the play, it's acutely perceptive, universally empathetic and humane.

Full Review | Comment
12/09/04 04:06 PM
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
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The film explores the conflict between idealistic youth and pragmatic maturity, respecting each in turn, but succeeds best in underscoring the power of youthful sexuality.

Full Review | Comment
12/08/04 10:15 PM
Wendy Weinstein
Film Journal International
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
11/14/04 10:15 PM
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders
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Centers on a small family of wealthy, prominent celebrities, whose indulgent infighting feels forced and predictable

Full Review | Comment
11/14/04 01:33 PM
Jesse Paddock
culturevulture.net
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Miller has smoothly transformed Chekov's masterpiece into a critique of his own art -- cinema -- while respectfully retaining the playwright's core themes.

Full Review | Comment
11/12/04 02:43 PM
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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Talky, pointless exercise.

Full Review | Comment
11/12/04 02:41 PM
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
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Miller takes Chekhov's themes and checks them off, but he never gets under his egocentric characters' thin skins.

Full Review | Comment
11/12/04 02:39 PM
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
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Its lush feel and affectionate tone are a movie-loving Francophile's dream come true.

Full Review | Comment
11/12/04 02:30 PM
E! Online
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Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
LA PETITE LILI is finally set to reach USA theaters on November 12, 2004 ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/30/05


REEL_REVIEWER
LA PETITE LILI is finally set to reach USA theaters on November 12, 2004 ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/30/05


REEL_REVIEWER
LA PETITE LILI is finally set to reach USA theaters on November 12, 2004 ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/30/05


REEL_REVIEWER
LA PETITE LILI is finally set to reach USA theaters on November 12, 2004 ...
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/30/05


HarryTuttle
La Petite Lili - another tailored role for the cute Ludivine Sagnier
by: HarryTuttle 9/10/03
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