Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2013: #51. Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties

Blood Ties

Director: Guillaume Canet
Writer(s): Canet, James Gray, Jacques Maillot, Pilar Anguita-MacKay, Frank Urbaniok
Producer(s): Alain Attal, John Lesher, Hugo Sélignac, Christopher Woodrow
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, Marion Cotillard, Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, James Caan, Lili Taylor, Matthias Schoenaerts

Who knew that the veteran French actor Guillaume Canet would establish himself as a top ranking director, and more recently a working relationship with a man who the French audiences/critics adore in James Gray. In his filmography of four films – Tell No One claimed critical acclaim and made crazy box office in the U.S. (I recall seeing the film in its 4th month playing in NYC) and I’m one of the very few who connected with his previous item – a saga in itself called Little White Lies – an ensemble drama, hell bent on exploring every possible mid-life crisis or non crisis in the have young children or wish I didn’t demographic. On paper – Blood Ties appears to be loaded in awesomeness.

Gist: A remake of 2008 French thriller Les liens du sang by Jacques Maillot, and based on the novel “Les liens du sang” by Bruno and Michel Papet, the story is set in the 1970’s and follows two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Chris Pierzynski (Clive Owen) has just been released after years in prison for his part in a gangland murder. Waiting reluctantly outside the prison gates is his younger brother, Frank (Crudup), a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, who raised them alone, has always favored Chris – despite all his troubles. Frank has known this since they were kids, and it eats at him like nothing else.

Release Date: Definite stop at the Cannes Film Festival where it should land a U.S. distributor (perhaps beforehand) and it’ll play in France the following month.