All Cats Are Grey (French: Tous les chats sont gris) is a 2014 Belgian coming-of-age drama film directed by Savina Dellicour and co-written by Dellicour and Matthieu de Braconier. All Cats Are Grey had its world premiere at the 32nd Turin Film Festival. It also screened as a special presentation during the 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it won Best International Film. Critical response was generally strong and the film received nine nominations at the 6th Magritte Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Dellicour.[2]

All Cats Are Grey
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySavina Dellicour
Written bySavina Dellicour
Matthieu de Braconier
Produced byValérie Bournonville
Joseph Rouschop
Starring
CinematographyThomas Buelens
Edited byEwin Ryckaert
Production
company
Tarantula Belgique
Distributed byO'Brother
Release dates
  • November 25, 2014 (2014-11-25) (Turin)
  • April 29, 2015 (2015-04-29) (Belgium)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryBelgium
LanguageFrench
Budget1.4 million[1]

Plot

edit

Dorothy (Manon Capelle) is a 15-year-old girl who was raised in a well-off residential neighbourhood of Brussels. She does not feel comfortable with her daily life, partly because of the detached relationship with her mother (Anne Coesens). Dorothy finds music a pleasant form of escape and passes her days listening to The Cure and new music artists. By chance, she meets Paul (Bouli Lanners), a 43-year-old man who works as a detective and leads a solitary existence after his wife's death. Dorothy asks him for help in the search for her biological father and Paul agrees. A strong connection arises between them, but Dorothy doest not know that he is actually her biological father. Over the years, away from Dorothy, Paul has always lived with this secret. Now back in Brussels he has been watching her from afar, without ever daring to approach her.

Cast

edit

Critical reception

edit

Upon its screening at the Rome Film Festival, All Cats Are Grey was positively received with a standing ovation from the audience.[3] On the review aggregator Cinebel, the film has received a weighted average score of 8.2 out of 10, based on 11 critics.[4] Michaël Degré from L'Avenir felt that the film offers a smart reflection about fatherhood and family.[5] Fernand Denis of La Libre Belgique called Dellicour's direction a "polished work" which displays a "sense of observation and a tone that mixes harmoniously humor and existential angst". He also regarded Lanners' acting as one of his finest performances.[6]

Hugues Dayez from RTBF commented that Dellicour builds a real suspense drama in which she describes with "great accuracy" the social impact of two distant worlds: the modest and simple world of Paul, and the austere and hypocritical one of Christine.[7] Louis Danvers from Le Vif wrote that the young Manon Capelle and Bouli Lanners form a "very convincing couple". He praised Dellicour's direction and Thomas Buelens' cinematography.[8] The Canadian Film Institute described the film as "superbly written", filled with unexpected discoveries for characters and audience alike, and called Manon Capelle a revelation.[9]

Accolades

edit
Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
Annonay International Film Festival[10] Grand Jury Prize Nominated
Audience Award Won
Magritte Awards[11] Best Film Nominated
Best Director Savina Dellicour Nominated
Best Actor Bouli Lanners Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Anne Coesens Won
Most Promising Actress Manon Capelle Nominated
Best Production Design Paul Rouschop Nominated
Best Costume Design Sabine Zappitelli Nominated
Best Editing Ewin Ryckaert Nominated
Best First Feature Film Won
Mons International Film Festival[12] BeTV Prize Won
Santa Barbara International Film Festival[13] Best International Film Won

References

edit
  1. ^ "Tous les chats sont gris, premier long de Savina Dellicour" (in French). Cineuropa. August 20, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  2. ^ "Magritte du cinéma : pluie de nominations pour Jaco van Dormael et Savina Dellicour". Le Soir (in French). January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Ceuterick, André (October 23, 2014). ""Tous les chats sont gris": un film belge au Festival de Rome". Sud Presse (in French). Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  4. ^ "Tous les chats sont gris". Cinebel (in French). La Dernière Heure. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  5. ^ Degré, Michaël (April 29, 2015). "Esprits de famille". L'Avenir (in French). Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Denis, Fernand (April 23, 2015). ""Tous les chats sont gris" : Trois cœurs". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Dayez, Hugues (April 29, 2015). ""Tous les chats sont gris", une belle découverte" (in French). RTBF. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  8. ^ Danvers, Louis (April 28, 2015). "Critique ciné: Tous les chats sont gris, la quête du père". Le Vif (in French). Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  9. ^ "All Cats Are Grey". Canadian Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  10. ^ "Palmarès" (in French). Festival International du Premier Film d'Annonay. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  11. ^ Moury, Gaëlle; Bradfer, Fabienne (February 7, 2016). "Jaco Van Dormael et la Flandre se distinguent aux Magritte du cinéma". Le Soir (in French). Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Engelen, Aurore (March 2, 2015). "An eclectic group of winners at the Mons International Love Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  13. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (February 7, 2015). "Santa Barbara Film Fest Reveals 2015 Prize Winners". Indiewire. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
edit