The Last Flight (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Flight is a 2009 French film. Directed by Karim Dridi
, it stars Marion Cotillard
and Guillaume Canet
. The film is based on the French novel Le dernier vol de Lancaster by Sylvain Estibal which is loosely based on the real life events surrounding the disappearance of British aviator Bill Lancaster
.
. After her plane is forced down in the Ténéré
she meets Lieutenant Antoine Chauvet (Canet) of the French Camel Corps
who joins in the hunt for Lancaster. As the two endure hardships in the desert, they begin to develop feelings for each other.
The Last Flight was originally scheduled to begin shooting in Niger
, but due to safety concerns it was filmed in and around the Morrocan village of Merzouga
. Due to the location change, Tuareg actors had to be brought in from Mali
. For his role in the film as a French lieutenant who has assimilated to Tuareg culture, Guillaume Canet learned Tamasheq
, the Tuareg language.
and The Sheltering Sky
.
, Nicolas Vanier
's Loup, and Frédéric Berthe's RTT. By 27 December it had earned only $2.8 million.
Karim Dridi
Karim Dridi is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed ten films since 1987. His film Bye-Bye was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.-Filmography:* Dans le sac...
, it stars Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard is a French actress and singer. She garnered critical acclaim for her roles in films such as La Vie en Rose, My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument, Taxi, Furia and Jeux d'enfants...
and Guillaume Canet
Guillaume Canet
Guillaume Canet is a French actor and film director.Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like Joyeux Noël, Love Me If You Dare and The Beach...
. The film is based on the French novel Le dernier vol de Lancaster by Sylvain Estibal which is loosely based on the real life events surrounding the disappearance of British aviator Bill Lancaster
Bill Lancaster (aviator)
Captain William Newton "Bill" Lancaster was a pioneering British aviator.-Early life:Born in Birmingham, England, Lancaster emigrated to Australia as a child prior to World War I. In 1916, he joined first the Australian Army and later the Australian Flying Corps...
.
Synopsis
Aviator Marie Vallières de Beaumont (Cotillard) goes on a journey to find her lover Bill Lancaster after his plane disappears in the SaharaSahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
. After her plane is forced down in the Ténéré
Ténéré
The Ténéré is a desert region in the south central Sahara. It comprises a vast plain of sand stretching from northeastern Niger into western Chad, occupying an area of over...
she meets Lieutenant Antoine Chauvet (Canet) of the French Camel Corps
Mehariste
Méhariste is a French word that roughly translates to camel cavalry. The word is most commonly used as a designation of military units.-Origins of French Camel Corps:...
who joins in the hunt for Lancaster. As the two endure hardships in the desert, they begin to develop feelings for each other.
Cast
- Marion CotillardMarion CotillardMarion Cotillard is a French actress and singer. She garnered critical acclaim for her roles in films such as La Vie en Rose, My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument, Taxi, Furia and Jeux d'enfants...
as Marie Vallières de Beaumont - Guillaume CanetGuillaume CanetGuillaume Canet is a French actor and film director.Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like Joyeux Noël, Love Me If You Dare and The Beach...
as Antoine Chauvet - Frédéric Epaud as Louis
- Michaël Vander-Meiren as Vasseur
- Guillaume Marquet as Capatain Vincent Brosseau
- Saïdou Abatcha as Saïddou
Production
Karim Dridi decided to develop the film after reading French journalist Sylvain Estibal's novel Le dernier vol de Lancaster. Dridi had travelled through the Sahara and was interested in making The Last Flight because he felt the novel could be made into a film that deviated from the normal conventions of the romantic epic. After he narrated the story to Marion Cotillard, she agreed to play Marie, a character loosely based on Lancaster's real-life lover, Chubbie Miller.The Last Flight was originally scheduled to begin shooting in Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, but due to safety concerns it was filmed in and around the Morrocan village of Merzouga
Merzouga
Merzouga is a small village in southeastern Morocco, about 35 kilometerssoutheast of Rissani, about 45 kilometers from Erfoud, and about 50 kilometers from the Algerian border....
. Due to the location change, Tuareg actors had to be brought in from Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. For his role in the film as a French lieutenant who has assimilated to Tuareg culture, Guillaume Canet learned Tamasheq
Tuareg languages
Tuareg is a Berber language or family of very closely related languages and dialects spoken by the Tuareg Berbers, in large parts of Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso, with a few speakers, the Kinnin, in Chad.- Description :Other Berber languages and Tamashaq are quite mutually...
, the Tuareg language.
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews. While critics praised Antoine Monod's cinematography, they criticised the story for a perceived lack of originality, comparing it to The English PatientThe English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
and The Sheltering Sky
The Sheltering Sky (film)
The Sheltering Sky is a 1990 British-Italian drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich. The film is based on the 1949 novel by Paul Bowles about a couple who journey to northern Africa in the hopes of rekindling their marriage but soon fall prey to the...
.
Box office
The Last Flight opened in France in the fifth position behind Avatar, Arthur and the InvisiblesArthur and the Invisibles
Arthur and the Invisibles is a French/American part-animated, part-live action feature film adaptation of the 2002 children's book Arthur et les minimoys / Arthur and the Minimoys, and the 2003 sequel Arthur et la cité interdite /...
, Nicolas Vanier
Nicolas Vanier
Nicolas Vanier is a French adventurist, writer and moviemaker.His 2004 film The Last Trapper is about a trapper in the Yukon....
's Loup, and Frédéric Berthe's RTT. By 27 December it had earned only $2.8 million.