À la place du coeur

Dec 9 1998 N/A 1h 53m
Comedy, Drama, Romance

From the director of Marius et Jeannette, this story of two working-class families is a fable with an optimist streak. A young black man, Francois, is wrongly accused of rape by a racist policeman. The story is told in voiceover by his childhood friend, neighbor, and the mother of his future child, Clementine, who is white. The city is Marseilles as in the previous film, symbolic with its churches, prisons and ruins. Except in this film, director Robert Guediguian also ventures outside, taking the story to Sarajevo; two different cities, one devastated by war, the other by a bad economy and unemployment. A la Place du coeur won a Special Jury Prize at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival and was also shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and the 1998 Montreal Film Festival.

Plot

Clim and Bébé have grown up together in a blue-collar neighborhood in Marseille. When Bébé is eighteen and Clim is sixteen, they fall in love. She becomes pregnant, and the situation is welcomed with surprise and joy from their working class families. But on a bad day, Bébé is unjustly accused of rape by a racist cop and he is arrested. The families of the two must now fight to disprove the unfounded accusation.

Written by

James Baldwin, Robert Guédiguian, Jean-Louis Milesi

Directed by

Robert Guédiguian

Cast

Ariane Ascaride, Christine Brücher, Jean-Pierre Darroussin

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

France

Production Companies

Diaphana Films, Agat Films & Cie / Ex Nihilo, Canal+

Languages

Français

Awards

3 wins & 1 nomination

Scores
# of Votes
457
Average Rating
6.6 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA