A Foreign Body / At All Costs ( Sinon, oui / Coûte que coûte )

A Foreign Body / At All Costs (DVD) (*)

$34.99

Original Title: Sinon, oui / Coûte que coûte
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Cannes Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
214 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1996 - 1997 and produced in:
Canada ( USA, Canada )
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Claire Simon

Written By:
Claire Simon

Actors:
Catherine Mendez ..... Magali
Emmanuel Clarke ..... Alain
Lou Castel ..... The Father
Agnès Regolo ..... Myriam
Magali Leiris ..... Mrs. Yvon
Alexandre Colonna ..... Joseph
Yves Fravega ..... Doctor
Claude Merlin ..... Lemeur
Pierre Berriau ..... Gaultier
Paolo Dominici ..... M. Paul
Cécile Thiéblemont ..... Nun
Michèle Sevleyan ..... Mother superior
Jérôme Rigaut ..... Dressmaker
Liliane Clary ..... Mrs. Maupin
Georges Neri ..... M. Maupin
Claire Simon

Synopsis:

Sinon oui - A Foreign Body (1997)
Follows the predicament of a woman who claims she is pregnant when she isn't. What started out as a mistake becomes a pretence that has to be carried through, with marriage and family relationships depending on the charade. She finds a solution that produces extraordinary consequences.

Coûte que coûte - At All Costs (1996)
Documentary about a small catering firm in Southern France, trying in vain to make its way in the market.

Sinon oui - A Foreign Body (1997)
Claire Simon's first fiction film is based on the true story of a woman who has feigned a pregnancy. SINON OUI tells the story through Magali and Alain, a married couple. Without consulting his wife, Alain decides to go to Canada for his job for one year. When Alain's boss thinks that Magali is pregnant, she decides to adopt this version of reality - hoping that Alain might stay. But he insists on an abortion. After several failed attempts to tell the truth, Magali entangles herself more and more in her deception. The situation becomes more involved with each of Magali's compromising decisions and the need for consequent action becomes increasingly urgent. Bizarre saxophone sounds set the tone; a female voice calls out the initial credits instead of them being faded in. However, Sinon oui impresses primarily with its un-prejudiced look at Magali.The story is told from her perspective in a disturbingly calm way. We see the frosty life of a married couple. No hope is placed on the alleged relationships of confidence, from which Magali might expect some understanding. She herself never loses sight of her responsibility for her own life, in spite of all the entanglements.

Coûte que coûte - At All Costs (1996)
Armed with this motto, the owner of a small company in Nice struggles to survive. With the help of three cooks and his secretary, he has specialised in the production of ready made meals that he sells to local consumers. The opening images of the film make it quite clear that there is trouble in the air as the owner attempts to reassure his employees. Awaiting long unpaid salaries they pressingly demand explanations regarding the financial situation of the company. Claire Simon's COUTE QUE COUTE brings us the tragicomic chronicle of a bankruptcy.We see the kitchen personnel - their ingredients dwindling as time goes by - chopping leeks and cutting up chickens. We see the secretary shrug her shoulders when her computer dies and the telephone is cut off. Finally, we see the boss, now up to his eyes in trouble, taking more or less hopeless initiatives to appease his creditors. At a certain point, completely exhausted, he leaves his office for a few days. On his return, he somehow appears to have regained more energy than ever. The particular feature of this chronicle of failure is the attempt to salvage the company - and of course, our witnessing of the staff's incredible sense of humour. Endowed with an atmosphere that shifts between optimism and despair, it could be said that this film is an ode to joy of life and serenity.

Sinon oui - A Foreign Body (1997)
Based on a true story this emotionally wrenching character study focuses upon a desperate young wife who feigns an entire pregnancy in hopes of convincing her dissatisfied husband to remain with her. Magali's problem comes from the fact that she is so bland and unassuming as to be nearly invisible. Her passivity and inability to form her own opinions grates on her husband Alain, a go-getter radio journalist, and he plans to take a year long assignment in Canada to get away from her. While preparing to leave, his boss, who has been inadvertently led to believe that Magli is pregnant, shows up and tells Alain. The husband's first response is to demand an abortion, but on second thought he decides he would like to become a father after all. Magli, fearing that he will leave, then devises her elaborate ruse. The gravity of her deception increases with that of her pillow-padded abdomen, for when her terminally ill father learns of her fecund condition, he vows that he will remain alive long enough to see his grandbaby. Her sister-in-law, who opted for abortion, is also very supportive and determined to help her through the pregnancy. As the months pass, Magli becomes increasingly cagey and cannily does not give Alain a definite due date. In the end, she solves her problem in a most creative way; it is a solution that spawns surprising consequences.

Coûte que coûte - At All Costs (1996)
An antidote to the media's enchantment with computer start-ups, Claire Simon's fascinating observational documentary takes us behind the scenes of a small catering company in southern France. Owner Jihad, a former secretary to the Tunisian Consul General, hurries through his spotless commercial kitchen, urging the chef to buy some rabbits for a lunch he is preparing. 'Business is about clients... profitability comes after... trust me!' Out of earshot, the cook mumbles, 'That's why we're in trouble.' Potential partners, possible clients and reluctant bankers meet with Jihad to negotiate deals while his employees argue for back pay and the phone jangles with suppliers seeking payment. Jihad meets them all with an openness spiced with anxiety. Assertions such as 'I'll keep this company going!' are seasoned with the owner's entreaties, 'Please be patient a little while longer.' When asked about his books and debt, Jihad replies 'It's terrifying!' Meanwhile, the chef wonders how to cook without ingredients. And yet 'at all costs' Jihad continues to relish his enterprise and his employees. This situation's attributable to the nature of capitalism-he seems to be at once on a downward spiral and about to make it big. It's a culinary thriller-trust me.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 17 January, 2012.

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