Other People's Children
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLes enfants des autres
Directed byRebecca Zlotowski
Written byRebecca Zlotowski
Produced by
  • Frédéric Jouve
  • Marie Lecoq
Starring
CinematographyGeorge Lechaptois
Edited byGéraldine Mangenot
Music byROB
Production
companies
Distributed byAd Vitam
Release dates
  • 4 September 2022 (2022-09-04) (Venice)
  • 21 September 2022 (2022-09-21) (France)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box officeest. US$2.9 million[1]

Other People's Children (French: Les enfants des autres) is a 2022 French drama film directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, starring Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni and Callie Ferreira-Goncalves. The tragic comedy tells the story of a middle-aged teacher who starts a new relationship. This creates a close bond with the little daughter of her partner.

The film had its premiere on September 4, 2022 at the 79th Venice International Film Festival and competed for Golden Lion award.[2][3] It was theatrical released in France on 21 September 2022.[4]

Synopsis

Rachel is 40 years old, single and has no children. She is working as a teacher at a middle school, and has a large circle of friends and also keeps in touch with her ex-husbands. She also takes guitar lessons and is happy with her life. Then one day, she falls in love with Ali and his four-year-old daughter Leila also enters her life. Rachel takes care of the toddler, cares for and soon loves her like her own. But she must recognize that the close bond with Leila also harbors a possible risk, especially in relation to her birth mother Alice. Rachel doesn't want to put up with just being an "extra" in Leila's life. Time is also working against her, should she still fulfill her wish to have a child of her own at this age.[4]

Cast

Production

Other People's Children is the fifth feature film by French director and screenwriter Rebecca Zlotowski. The work is said to have been inspired by her relationship with director Jacques Audiard.[5] She cast Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni and child actress Callie Ferreira-Goncalves in pivotal roles. She had previously collaborated with Zem on the television series Savages in 2019. In an interview, the actor noted Zlotowski's feminine gaze and that she would have created his part as Efira's lover without cliches. He recalled a scene where Efira's character was smoking and watching him take a shower. "I grew up with a movie theater, a television, an existence itself that was 95 percent male. This everyday patriarchy hurt me, but of course it's going away. I notice it with children of my son's age," says Zem.[6]

The film was produced by Frédéric Jouve for Les Films Velvet, who in the same capacity oversaw all of Zlotowski's previous feature films. France 3 Cinéma appeared as co-producer. The broadcasting rights were secured in advance by Canal+ Cinéma and France Télévisions. The project was supported by the national film promotion authority Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) and the SOFICA companies Indéfilms, Cinécap and Cineventure. For camera and editing, Zlotowski engaged George Lechaptois and Géraldine Mangenot, with whom she worked on her previous feature film, An Easy Girl (2019). The film music was composed by Robin Coudert alias Rob.[7]

Principal photography began in March 2021.[8]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2022,[9] and competes for Golden Lion in 'In competition' section.[10] It also held its North American Premiere at 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in 'Special Presentations' section on 8 September 2022 at Scotiabank Theatre, Toronto.[11] Later it was released by Ad Vitam in France on 21 September 2022.[4] It also made it to 'World Cinema' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival and was screened on 9 October 2022.[12] In November 2022, it was featured in 'Country in focus' section of 53rd International Film Festival of India.[13] Later in December, it was invited to Spotlight section of 2023 Sundance Film Festival to be held from January 19 to 29, 2023.[14]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads, "Other People's Children perceptively explores motherhood outside traditional biological confines and delivers sobering truths with an ample side of levity."[15] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16] AlloCiné rated the film 4.1/5, based on 36 reviews, which is an 'Average grade'.[17]

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote: "Zlotowski’s deft, perceptive original screenplay is keenly attuned to the cutting emotional impact of a passing remark or overheard jab, and the unintended microaggressions that parents occasionally toss at their child-free peers."[18] Ben Croll of IndieWire graded the film with B+ and wrote, "Other People’s Children feels, to put it bluntly, delightfully French."[19]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2022 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Other People's Children Nominated [10]
2023 Lumières Award Best Film Nominated [20]
Best Director Rebecca Zlotowski Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Actress Virginie Efira Won

References

  1. ↑ "Other People's Children (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Orlando Parfitt (26 July 2022). "Venice film festival unveils 2022 line-up - follow live". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Scott Roxborough (26 July 2022). "Venice Festival Picks Marilyn Monroe Drama 'Blonde,' New Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Wilde, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Films". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Les enfants des autres: Un film de Rebecca Zlotowski" [Other People's Children: A film by Rebecca Zlotowski]. Ad Vitam Distribution (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  5. ↑ Constance Jamet (26 July 2022). "Timothée Chalamet, Ana de Armas, Cate Blanchett... La Mostra 2022 fait le plein de stars" [Timothée Chalamet, Ana de Armas, Cate Blanchett… The Mostra 2022 is full of stars]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Sophie Grassin (6 February 2022). "" Enquête sur un scandale d'Etat " : quand Roschdy Zem joue les lanceurs d'alerte" ["Investigation into a state scandal": when Roschdy Zem plays the whistleblower]. L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  7. ↑ Fabien Lemercier (27 July 2022). "Rebecca Zlotowski's Other People's Children will compete in Venice". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Fabien Lemercier (17 March 2021). "L'avance sur recettes du CNC pour Peter von Kant de François Ozon" [Advance on receipts from the CNC for Peter von Kant by François Ozon]. Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "La Biennale di Venezia 2022 - Other People's Children". La Biennale di Venezia. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  10. 1 2 Tartaglione, Nancy (26 July 2022). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Aronofsky, Inarritu, Field, Dominik, Guadagnino, Hogg, McDonagh, Panahi In Competition". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  11. ↑ "Toronto International Film Festival; Contemporary World Cinema: Other People's Children". Toronto International Film Festival. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "Other People's Children". Busan International Film Festival. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "Country Focus - France Films". iffigoa. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  14. ↑ Patten, Dominic; D'Alessandro, Anthony (7 December 2022). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Set With Ukraine War, Little Richard, Michael J. Fox, Judy Blume Docs; Pics With Anne Hathaway, Emilia Clarke, Jonathan Majors, More". Deadline. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "Other People's Children". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Other People's Children". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  17. ↑ "Critiques presse pour le film Other People's Children" [Press reviews for the film Other People's Children]. AlloCiné (in French). 21 September 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Lodge, Guy (4 September 2022). "'Other People's Children' Review: Virginie Efira Shines in a Wise, Humane Story of Second-Degree Parenting". Variety. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  19. ↑ Croll, Ben (4 September 2022). "'Other People's Children' Review: Virginie Efira in a Mature, and Delightfully French Drama". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  20. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (16 January 2023). "Dominik Moll's 'The Night Of The 12th' & Albert Serra's 'Pacification' Lead Prizes At French Lumière Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
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