Smoking/No Smoking

Dec 15 1993 N/A 4h 58m
Comedy, Drama

"Smoking" and "No Smoking" are two segments of the film which are based on closely connected plays. The original plays covered eight separate stories, which have been pared down to three each for these movies. At a certain point in the story of each segment, the five female characters (all played by Sabine Azema) and the four male characters (all played by Pierre Arditi) have their lives skillfully recapped in terms of "what might have happened" if they had made or failed to make certain choices. For example, "No Smoking" focuses chiefly on the relationship between the mild-mannered Miles Coombes and his infinitely more aggressive and ambitious wife, Rowena.

Plot

In Yorkshire, Toby Teasdale is the alcoholic director of a school and married with two children with Celia Teasdale that is very unhappy. They have a maid, Sylvie Bell, and a guardian and handyman, Lionel Hepplewick, at school. Toby's best friend is Miles Coombes, who is married with three children with the easy Rowena Coombes. Along the years, simple attitudes might have changed their lives.

Written by

Alan Ayckbourn, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Anne Dutter

Directed by

Alain Resnais

Cast

Sabine Azéma, Pierre Arditi, Peter Hudson

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

France, Switzerland, Italy

Production Companies

Arena Films, France 2 Cinéma, Caméra One

Languages

Français

Awards

11 wins & 8 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
1,971
Average Rating
7.4 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA