French Kiss (film)
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A French kiss can refer to a style of kissing using the tongue. For other uses, see French kiss (disambiguation).
| French Kiss | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Produced by | Charles Okun (Exec.Prod) Working Title Films |
| Written by | Adam Brooks |
| Starring | Kevin Kline Meg Ryan Jean Reno Timothy Hutton |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
| Editing by | Joe Hutshing |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox (USA) PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (UK) |
| Release date(s) | May 5, 1995 |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Language | English / French |
| IMDb profile | |
French Kiss is an American-made 1995 romantic comedy film set primarily in France. The film was greeted less than enthusiastically by film critics but the moviegoing public made it a major financial success. The Hindi movie, "Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha" is an unofficial remake of French Kiss and the dialogs are almost a line-by-line translation.
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[edit] Plot
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The film tells the story of Kate (Meg Ryan), a fastidious young woman who knows exactly what her future will be: she will marry a Toronto doctor named Charlie (Timothy Hutton) and live happily ever after as soon as he comes back from a business trip to Paris. Not part of her plans was her man running off with a beautiful French seductress named Juliette (Susan Anbeh).
Determined to get him back, Kate overcomes her fear of flying and boards a flight for Paris. Onboard, she is seated next to Frenchman Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline), a crude petty thief whom she is forced to tolerate for the next few hours of the flight. Luc hides a stolen diamond necklace and a small grapevine in her purse to get them past customs. After several mishaps in Paris, Luc finds himself forced to accompany this stuck-up American across France to try to get the necklace back, under the pretence of helping her win back Charlie.
But what's with that grapevine? And isn't Inspector Cardon (Jean Reno), in hot pursuit of the diamonds, showing more than just a professional interest in Luc?
As the adventure continues, are Kate and Luc's feelings for each other starting to change?
[edit] Film locations
The film takes place in three locations in France: Paris, Valbonne in the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région of southeastern France, and Cannes.
In Paris, Charlie and Juliette stay at the famous Hotel George V, Paris. It is here that Meg Ryan's character has her encounters with a supercilious concierge, played by Laurent Spielvogel, and it is in the lobby that she is robbed by a Parisian con artist played by François Cluzet.
Other scenes around Paris include numerous shots of the Eiffel Tower, driving past the Louvre Pyramid, and Meg Ryan's character using a phonebooth near the Arc de Triomphe. There are a number of street scenes shot on the Right Bank. There is a corner in the Montmartre district where rue Paul Albert and rue Feutrier meet and Kline's character throws money on the sidewalk and later Ryan's character picks it up.
The last scene in Paris is at the Gare Saint-Lazare train station where Kevin Kline's character is being chased by police inspector Jean-Paul Cardon (Jean Reno) while trying to board a train south to Cannes. One of the 'errors' in the film is that the train to Cannes does not leave from this station but rather from Gare de Lyon. (The trains from Gare Saint-Lazare go north towards Normandy.)
In the small French village of Valbonne (about 15 minutes north of Cannes) Kevin Kline's character gets into a fight with his brother in the main village square in front of the Hotel les Armoiries (a 17th century building). There are also other scenes of the town in the film.
There are scenes of a train station and the vineyards of the small hamlet of La Revelle which is part of the town of Paulhaguet in the Haute-Loire département in the Auvergne région of south central France.
In Cannes there are outside shots of the Carlton Hotel where all four main characters are staying. There are inside scenes of the lobby and one of the restaurants (the brasserie used for morning breakfasts). Scenes include the beach in front of the hotel along with the adjacent waterfront - in particular the Cartier boutique on the next corner.
[edit] Music
Noted on the film's soundtrack are Van Morrison's "Someone Like You" and, performed by Kevin Kline in French, Charles Trenet's "La Mer", as well as Louis Armstrong's version of "La Vie en Rose". The Beautiful South did a cover of Dream a Little Dream of Me; Jason Statham was an extra in the video.
[edit] Cast
- Kevin Kline - Luc Teyssier
- Meg Ryan - Kate
- Jean Reno - Jean-Paul Cardon
- Timothy Hutton - Charlie
- François Cluzet - Bob
- Susan Anbeh - Juliette
[edit] Trivia
- The lead role of Luc was originally written with the expectation that it would be performed by France's most famous movie actor, Gerard Depardieu. When Depardieu was not available for the film, Kevin Kline stepped into the role. Some viewers detect an element of gentle parody of Depardieu in Kline's performance.
- The movie's screen-writer Adam Brooks has a cameo appearance as the "model" passenger sitting next to Kevin Kline during the flight.
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