Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2015: #24. Christophe Honoré’s Les Malheurs de Sophie

Les Malheurs de Sophie

Director: Christophe Honoré // Writers: Christophe Honoré, Gilles Taurand

One of France’s most underrated directors (at least judging on the level of attention he receives overseas) is Christophe Honoré, who is perhaps best known for his 2007 film, Love Songs, which played in the Main Competition at Cannes. A unique and utterly charming musical, Honore followed up his collaboration with Alex Beaupain with less success for 2011’s Beloved, which closed the Cannes Film Festival. Usually casting either Louis Garrell, Chiara Mastroianni or both in nearly all his features, his latest (see trailer below), Metamorphoses (2014), an adaptation of the famed text by Greek poet Ovid, premiered at Venice Days with little fanfare. Honore’s also responsible for the provocative George Bataille adaptation, Ma Mere (2004) which features an infamous performance from Isabelle Huppert. His tenth feature film, Sophie’s Woes, is loosely based on a famed children’s novel by the Countess of Segur, with a screenplay co-written by Gilles Taurand, who has worked on some of Andre Techine’s most famed titles (Wild Reeds; Thieves) as well as Benoit Jacquot’s Farewell, My Queen (2012) and Ursula Meier’s Sister. A cast headlined by Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani and rising French star Anaïs Demoustier is also of exciting note.

Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Anaïs Demoustier and Murielle Robin

Production Co.: Les Films Pelléas

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.

Release Date: With filming taking place this January, Cannes seems a bit iffy, but still a possibility. This seems like the type of project that would receive a slot if it was ready in time, this might be a plum title for Venice.

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