Bird People
Céline’s
Role
Screenplay consultant
English
Title
Bird People (The French version had the English title, too.)
Year
2014
Director
Pascale Ferran
Screenwriters
Guillame Breaud & Pascale
Ferran
Editor
Mathilde Muyard
Cinematography
Julien Hirsch
Music
Beatrice Thiriet
Form
Feature film (128 mins)
Mostly in French, with an
extended scene in English.
(I have only been able to find
the DVD with Dutch subtitles, which did not help me at all. If you know where I
can purchase this film with English subtitles please let me know via the comments
section or messaging me on Twitter @bfowah.)
Synopsis
In the Paris airport zone, two
strangers are trying to make sense out of their lives: an American engineer
under professional and emotional pressure who decides to radically change the
course of his life, and a young hotel chambermaid who faces a life-altering
supernatural experience.
Honours/Awards
- Selection, Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, 2014
- Selection, Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
- Selection, Jeonju International Film Festival (Korea 2015)
Excerpts
from Reviews
“…is brimming with ideas about
solitude in the modern world, using a bifurcated narrative to follow two
characters whose destinies will be determined by fate, willpower and a touch of
the supernatural. It’s a tricky proposition that will surely ruffle the feathers
of many viewers, but one that also makes a curious, if lasting, impression,
thanks in part to strong turns from actors Anais Demoustier and Josh
Charles.”
Hollywood
Reporter
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/bird-people-cannes-review-702111/
“The best moments in Bird
People soar to such heights that you almost want to forgive the parts that
amount to mere droppings.”
NY Daily News
https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/bird-people-green-prince-movie-reviews-article-1.1936358
Comments
Céline’s
contribution to this film is as a script consultant. A quick search returns
this definition of a script consultant, and how it differs from a script doctor:
“A Script Consultant is a party that provides
feedback and in-depth script analysis on screenplays. Oftentimes their services
are enlisted by aspiring screenwriters who are seeking feedback on their work.
However, production companies may hire script consultants to provide notes on a
script as well.
The primary difference between a script
consultant and a script doctor is that a script consultant does not modify the
script.”
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-script-doctor-consultant
(Recall
that Céline was credited as a script doctor for the film It Was on Earth
That I Knew Joy.)
Starring in this film is Josh Charles, who played Will Gardner on The Good Wife, and Anaïs Demoustier, who was in the short film Pauline, that Céline directed in 2009.
Anaïs
won the 2020 César Award for Best Actress for her role in Alice et le Maire
(Alice and the Mayor), beating both Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant for
this award. This was very disappointing, though this is not a reflection on Anaïs’
performance, but rather the wonder I have at the superb performances of Adèle Haenel
and Noémie Merlant in Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu.
I could only find this on DVD with audio in French and subtitles in Dutch. Sadly, I cannot understand either of these languages (my fault, not theirs!)… There is an extended scene in English, and I could vaguely follow the plot—which is rather bizarre—without understanding most of the words.
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