The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Encyclopedia
The Beat That My Heart Skipped is a 2005 French film
directed by Jacques Audiard
and starring Romain Duris
. It tells the story of Tom, a real estate thug torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist. The film premiered on February 17, 2005 at the Berlin Film Festival. The film was given limited Release to theaters in North America and grossed $1,023,424 and $10,988,397 worldwide.
broker involved in shady business deals. His business partners, Fabrice and Sami, spend much of their time ruthlessly chasing squatters and illegal immigrants out of the buildings they have procured and trying to work their way around government housing regulations. Thomas is born to this kind of work; his father, Robert, is also involved in dodgy enterprises and sometimes calls upon Thomas to take care of unpleasant business (like beating up people who refuse to pay). Tom shows a protective and defensive attitude to his father who doesn't always appreciate what his son does for him–so much so that when his father introduces his new girlfriend to Tom, Tom undermines her to her face, and insults her to his father. Though she is a model, he decides she is "a whore." Later, when he tries to enlist her help to watch over his father, she tells him they broke up due to Robert changing his attitude and she is aware of Tom's backstabbing because Robert told her. Robert by this time is in danger from a Russian gangster, Minskov (Anton Yakovlev) who scammed him of a great deal of money and Tom is worried for his safety.
On the side, Tom wants to be a pianist like his mother and finds a teacher, virtuoso Miao Lin, to prepare for an audition opportunity. She speaks only Chinese, Vietnamese and some English, but no French. Eventually Tom reaches the high standards of his teacher while carrying on a relationship with the wife of one of his business partners. Stretched to the limit and overtired, he fails to complete the audition. He goes to see his father only to find the apartment destroyed and his father murdered. Tom is devastated. Cut to two years later where Tom is Miao Lin's manager and partner, organising her schedule, her performances and being by her side. Just before a concert, he chances to see Minskov, takes him by surprise in the stairwell, gives him a beating on the stairs and threatens to use his own gun against him, before deciding to spare him. The film closes with Tom in the audience, knuckles and shirt bloody, exchanging slow-burning looks with Miao Lin at the piano.
of James Toback
's 1978 film Fingers
, but it devotes more attention to the relationship between Tom and his piano teacher, Miao Lin. The idea that affection can blossom despite a language barrier is one which Jacques Audiard
has raised before in Read My Lips
(starring Vincent Cassel
).
For the film, Duris learned to play his own piano sequences–most notably, Bach
's Toccata
in E minor, trained by his sister, pianist Caroline Duris, who performs on the soundtrack.
The film's French title comes from the lyrics of the Jacques Dutronc
song La Fille Du Père Noël ("Santa Claus' Daughter"). The film title literally translates to English as "From beating, my heart has stopped".
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
directed by Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...
and starring Romain Duris
Romain Duris
-Life:Born on 28 May 1974 in Paris, son of an engineer-architect father, Duris studied arts at university. He was noticed in the street by a casting director whilst waiting in a queue in 1993 and offered a part in the 1994 Cédric Klapisch film Le péril jeune...
. It tells the story of Tom, a real estate thug torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist. The film premiered on February 17, 2005 at the Berlin Film Festival. The film was given limited Release to theaters in North America and grossed $1,023,424 and $10,988,397 worldwide.
Plot
Intense young "tough" Thomas Seyr is a 28-year old real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
broker involved in shady business deals. His business partners, Fabrice and Sami, spend much of their time ruthlessly chasing squatters and illegal immigrants out of the buildings they have procured and trying to work their way around government housing regulations. Thomas is born to this kind of work; his father, Robert, is also involved in dodgy enterprises and sometimes calls upon Thomas to take care of unpleasant business (like beating up people who refuse to pay). Tom shows a protective and defensive attitude to his father who doesn't always appreciate what his son does for him–so much so that when his father introduces his new girlfriend to Tom, Tom undermines her to her face, and insults her to his father. Though she is a model, he decides she is "a whore." Later, when he tries to enlist her help to watch over his father, she tells him they broke up due to Robert changing his attitude and she is aware of Tom's backstabbing because Robert told her. Robert by this time is in danger from a Russian gangster, Minskov (Anton Yakovlev) who scammed him of a great deal of money and Tom is worried for his safety.
On the side, Tom wants to be a pianist like his mother and finds a teacher, virtuoso Miao Lin, to prepare for an audition opportunity. She speaks only Chinese, Vietnamese and some English, but no French. Eventually Tom reaches the high standards of his teacher while carrying on a relationship with the wife of one of his business partners. Stretched to the limit and overtired, he fails to complete the audition. He goes to see his father only to find the apartment destroyed and his father murdered. Tom is devastated. Cut to two years later where Tom is Miao Lin's manager and partner, organising her schedule, her performances and being by her side. Just before a concert, he chances to see Minskov, takes him by surprise in the stairwell, gives him a beating on the stairs and threatens to use his own gun against him, before deciding to spare him. The film closes with Tom in the audience, knuckles and shirt bloody, exchanging slow-burning looks with Miao Lin at the piano.
Cast
- Romain DurisRomain Duris-Life:Born on 28 May 1974 in Paris, son of an engineer-architect father, Duris studied arts at university. He was noticed in the street by a casting director whilst waiting in a queue in 1993 and offered a part in the 1994 Cédric Klapisch film Le péril jeune...
as Thomas Seyr - Niels ArestrupNiels ArestrupNiels Arestrup is a French actor.Born in Paris into a family of modest means, his father was Danish and his mother was French...
as Robert Seyr - Jonathan Zaccaï as Fabrice
- Gilles Cohen as Sami
- Linh Dan PhamLinh Dan PhamLinh Dan Pham is a French actress.She was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, but moved with her family to France a year later just before the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong's forces and grew up in Paris...
as Miao Lin - Jian-Zhang as Jean-Pierre (Miao Lin's friend)
- Aure AtikaAure AtikaAure Atika is a French actress, writer and director. Born in Portugal to a Moroccan mother and a French father, Aure Atika grew up in Paris. She was born to Ode Atika Bitton and Michel Fournier who are also film actors and directors...
as Aline - Emmanuelle DevosEmmanuelle DevosEmmanuelle Devos is a French actress. Devos was born to daughter of actress Marie Henriau in Paris. She appeared in 50 films between 1986 and 2009. She won the César Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in Sur mes lèvres, directed by Jacques Audiard...
as Chris - Anton Yakovlev as Minskov
- Mélanie LaurentMélanie LaurentMélanie Laurent is a French actress, director, singer and writer. She is best known to international audiences for her role as Shosanna Dreyfus in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which she won Best Actress from the Online Film Critics Society and the Austin Film Critics...
as Minskov's Girlfriend - Agnès Aubé as Woman
- Sandy Whitelaw as Mr. Fox
- Emmanuel Finkiel as Conservatory Professor
Background
The film is a remakeRemake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of James Toback
James Toback
James Lee Toback is an American screenwriter and film director.-Early life:Toback was born in New York City. His mother, Selma Judith , was a President of The League of Women Voters and a moderator of political debates on NBC. His father, Irwin Lionel Toback, was a stockbroker and former...
's 1978 film Fingers
Fingers (1978 film)
Fingers is a 1978 drama film directed by James Toback.-Synopsis:The film features Harvey Keitel as a pianist who also works for his loan shark father as a "collector"...
, but it devotes more attention to the relationship between Tom and his piano teacher, Miao Lin. The idea that affection can blossom despite a language barrier is one which Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...
has raised before in Read My Lips
Sur mes lèvres
Sur mes lèvres is a 2001 French film by Jacques Audiard, co-written with Tonino Benacquista. The film stars Vincent Cassel as Paul, an ex-con on parole, and Emmanuelle Devos as Carla, a nearly deaf secretary whose colleagues treat her disrespectfully, causing her to suffer...
(starring Vincent Cassel
Vincent Cassel
Vincent Cassel is a Cesar award winning French actor probably best known to English-speaking audiences through his performances in the Ocean's Trilogy of films and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.-Personal life:...
).
For the film, Duris learned to play his own piano sequences–most notably, Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
's Toccata
Toccata
Toccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
in E minor, trained by his sister, pianist Caroline Duris, who performs on the soundtrack.
The film's French title comes from the lyrics of the Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He has been married to singer Françoise Hardy since 30 March 1981 and the two have a son . He also has been a longtime songwriting collaborator with Jacques Lanzmann...
song La Fille Du Père Noël ("Santa Claus' Daughter"). The film title literally translates to English as "From beating, my heart has stopped".
Won
- BAFTA Awards59th British Academy Film AwardsThe 59th British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 19 February 2006, honoured the best in film for 2005....
- Best Film not in the English Language
- Berlin Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
- Silver Berlin Bear: Best Film Music (Alexandre DesplatAlexandre DesplatAlexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
)
- Silver Berlin Bear: Best Film Music (Alexandre Desplat
- César Awards
- Best Actor – Supporting Role (Niels ArestrupNiels ArestrupNiels Arestrup is a French actor.Born in Paris into a family of modest means, his father was Danish and his mother was French...
) - Best Cinematography (Stéphane Fontaine)
- Best Director (Jacques AudiardJacques AudiardJacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...
) - Best Editing (Juliette WelflingJuliette WelflingJuliette Welfling is a French film editor. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing for her work in the 2007 movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly...
) - Best Film
- Best Music Written for a Film (Alexandre DesplatAlexandre DesplatAlexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
) - Best Screenplay – Adapted (Jacques AudiardJacques AudiardJacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...
and Tonino BenacquistaTonino BenacquistaTonino Benacquista is an award-winning French crime fiction author, comics writer, and screenwriter.- Awards :*1992 Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for La Commedia des ratés...
) - Most Promising Actress (Linh Dan PhamLinh Dan PhamLinh Dan Pham is a French actress.She was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, but moved with her family to France a year later just before the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong's forces and grew up in Paris...
)
- Best Actor – Supporting Role (Niels Arestrup
- French Syndicate of Cinema CriticsFrench Syndicate of Cinema CriticsThe French Syndicate of Cinema Critics has awarded 4 prizes - the Prix Méliès annually since 1946 to the best French film of the year. The Prix Léon Moussinac, awarded to the Best Foreign Film category was added in 1967...
- Best Film
Nominated
- Berlin Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
- Golden Berlin Bear (Jacques AudiardJacques AudiardJacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...
)
- Golden Berlin Bear (Jacques Audiard
- César Awards
- Best Actor – Leading Role (Romain DurisRomain Duris-Life:Born on 28 May 1974 in Paris, son of an engineer-architect father, Duris studied arts at university. He was noticed in the street by a casting director whilst waiting in a queue in 1993 and offered a part in the 1994 Cédric Klapisch film Le péril jeune...
) - Best Sound (Philippe Amouroux, Cyril Holtz, Brigitte Taillandier and Pascal Villard)
- Best Actor – Leading Role (Romain Duris
- European Film Awards
- Best Actor (Romain DurisRomain Duris-Life:Born on 28 May 1974 in Paris, son of an engineer-architect father, Duris studied arts at university. He was noticed in the street by a casting director whilst waiting in a queue in 1993 and offered a part in the 1994 Cédric Klapisch film Le péril jeune...
) - (Audience Award) Best Director (Jacques AudiardJacques AudiardJacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...
)
- Best Actor (Romain Duris