Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2021: #90. Benoît Jacquot’s Suzanna Andler

Suzanna Andler

Benoît Jacquot, whose perennial output was also delayed by the pandemic, turns to Marguerite Duras for inspiration for his next film, Suzanna Andler, based on the famed writer’s 1968 play. Charlotte Gainsbourg (reunites with Jacquot after 2014’s 3 Hearts) headlines the film which is produced by the director’s long-time collaborator Kristina Larsen. Niels Schneider, Nathan Willcocks and Julia Roy complete the cast.

Since the mid-1970s, Jacquot has been a mainstay on the film fest circuit. He’s competed in Cannes once, with 1998’s The School of Flesh, returning to the festival in Un Certain Regard in 2004 with A Tout de Suite and in 2016 as co-director of the documentary Gentleman Rissient (out of competition). He competed in Karlovy Vary in 2009 with Villa Amalia, but Berlin and Venice have entered him into competition the most often. In Berlin, Jacquot competed with 2012’s Farewell, My Queen, 2015’s The Diary of a Chambermaid and 2018’s Eva, while Venice has entered him into comp four times, with 1997’s Seventh Heaven, 1999’s Keep It Quiet, 2006’s The Untouchable and 2014’s 3 Hearts.

Gist: Gainsbourg plays the title character, a woman crushed by a loveless marriage in the 1960s and forced to choose between accepting life as it is or choosing a more carefree existence with her younger lover.

Release Date/Prediction: Jacquot completed production in early 2020 (and is already underway on another project). Currently the title is listed for a theatrical release in France late January 2021 and will be receiving it’s world premiere at the virtual Rotterdam edition this month.