Directed by:
Jean-François StéveninCinematography:
Pascal MartiCast:
Carole Bouquet, Jean-François Stévenin, Brigitte Roüan, Jackie Berroyer, Yves Afonso, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Jacqueline Dane, Jean-Pierre Kohut-SvelkoPlots(1)
Who are the gentlemen in the title? An employee of the service sector, cheap suit, briefcase in hand and a hairpiece to hide his baldness: meet François (Jean-François Stévenin), assisted by Léo (Yves Afonso, a stand-in for Belmondo), an extravagant character, slightly gossipy, a mentally challenged kid. Anything but heroes. Even though the title suggests a way of playing tennis, you will find no court, no tennis balls, no net here. Maybe sports? Yes, without a doubt, but without precise rules, instead with movements, wrong starts, chases, encounters. With whom? A woman, maybe, Hélène (magnificent: Carole Bouquet), who the two oddballs find instead of her absent husband whom they planned to surprise. The mountain? Definitely. Majestic, indifferent, the final shot, breathtaking, illustrates its whole importance. Filmed nine years after his first, this second film (of which they say it is the hardest) marries beauty and humor to create a great film if one is to believe the definition given by Langlois, “where one feels the air between the characters and the set.” (Viennale)
(more)Cast
Carole Bouquet
France
Best movies:
Le Rouge et le noir (1997) (TV movie)
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Spécial police (1985)
Jean-François Stévenin
France
Best movies:
The French Revolution (1989) (TV movie)
Day for Night (1973)
Small Change (1976)
Brigitte Roüan
France
Best movies:
Bolero (1981)
Olivier, Olivier (1992)
My American Uncle (1980)
Jackie Berroyer
France
Best movies:
Lune froide (1991)
A Common Thread (2004)
Skirt Day (2008)
Yves Afonso
France
Best movies:
The Wing and the Thigh (1976)
One Deadly Summer (1983)
Masculin Féminin (1966)
Jean-Paul Bonnaire
France
Best movies:
The French Revolution (1989) (TV movie)
The Chorus (2004)
Le Cousin (1997)
Jacqueline Dane
Best movies:
Dialogue with the Carmelites (1960)
Golden Marie (1952)
Five Miles to Midnight (1962)
Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko
France
Best movies:
Finally, Sunday (1983)
The Accompanist (1992)
The Green Room (1978)