Amer (film)

Amer is a 2009 Belgian-French thriller horror film written and directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani and starring Cassandra Forêt, Bianca Maria D'Amato, Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud, and Marie Bos. The film is a giallo in three parts. The plot of the film follows the sexual development of Ana who lives on the French Riviera. The film focuses on her oppressive teenage years leading to her womanhood.[1][2] The film premiered in Sweden in 2009. It has received generally favorable reviews and was nominated for the Magritte Award for Best Film.

Amer
Official promotional poster
Directed byHélène Cattet
Bruno Forzani
Produced byFrançois Cognard
Eve Commenge
Written byHélène Cattet
Bruno Forzani
StarringCassandra Forêt
Bianca Maria D'Amato
Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud
Marie Bos
Music byBruno Nicolai
Stelvio Cipriani
Ennio Morricone
CinematographyManuel Dacosse
Edited byBernard Beets
Production
company
Anonymes Films
Tobina Film
Distributed byZootrope Films
Wild Side Vidéo
Release date
  • 23 September 2009 (2009-09-23) (Fantastisk Film Festival Lund)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryFrance
Belgium
LanguageFrench

Cast
  • Cassandra Forêt as Ana (child)
  • Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud as Ana (teenager) - (credited as Charlotte Eugène Guibbaud)
  • Marie Bos as Ana (adult)
  • Delphine Brual as Graziella
  • Harry Cleven as Taximan
  • Bianca Maria D'Amato as The Mother
  • Bernard Marbaix as The dead grandfather
  • Jean-Michel Vovk as The father

[3]

Production

To fund the film's production, Belgian producer Eve Commenge created a company to produce Amer.[4] Directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani required more funding outside Belgium and searched for a French co-producer. Producer François Cognard agreed to co-produce the film.[4] The directors found that they only had one third of their original budget, but the producers let them start production regardless based on their experience of making short films for very little money.[4]

The directors took great preparations before shooting the actors due to the film's low budget. All shots in the film were tested with digital video cameras with the two directors playing all the parts so that nothing unexpected would come up when they began filming with the other actors.[4] The film was shot at the French Riviera and in Belgium. It took 39 days to shoot.[4]

Release

Amer had its world premiere at the 2009 Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden.[5] The film won The Blade award which was the first time it was given at the festival.[6] The film was shown at other film festivals as well, including the Sitges Film Festival in Spain where the directors won the award for Discovery Motion Picture Diploma.[7]

Reception

Amer was received very well by American critics on its original release. The film ranking website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 79% approval rating, based on 29 reviews, with an average score of 6.84/10.[8] At Metacritic, the film has received an average score of 72, based on seven reviews.[9] The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, stating that "The pleasures of this gorgeous, clever, and visceral film are almost exclusively aesthetic" as well as "that those unmoved or alienated by the porn of pain may be left flopping as nervelessly as one of the movie's severed limbs."[2] The Los Angeles Times referred to the film as "Consistently outrageous and relentlessly surreal, the Belgian film is, intentionally or not, frequently funny; it's also compelling and distinctive."[10] Empire gave the film three out of five stars, recommending it for fans of Dario Argento.[1]

References
  1. Toy, Sam. "Amer". Empire. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  2. Taylor, Ella (27 October 2010). "Dario Argento, Minus the Humor, in Amer". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  3. "AMER directed by Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani". Anonymes Film. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. "Interview: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, Makers of Amer". Desktop. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  5. Diurlin, Lars. "Amer". Lund International Fantastic Film Festival. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  6. "The Blade". Lund International Fantastic Film Festival. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  7. "AnonymesFilms.be". Anonymous Films. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. "Amer (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  9. "Critic Reviews for Amer". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  10. Thomas, Kevin (29 October 2010). "Amer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
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