La Famille Bélier

La Famille Bélier (released as The Bélier Family in Australia) is a 2014 French comedy-drama film directed by Éric Lartigau.[3] The film received six nominations at the 40th César Awards, winning Most Promising Actress for Louane Emera.[4]

La Famille Bélier
Film poster
Directed byÉric Lartigau
Produced byPhilippe Rousselet
Éric Jehelmann
Stéphanie Bermann
Written byVictoria Bedos
Thomas Bidegain
Stanislas Carré de Malberg
Éric Lartigau
StarringKarin Viard
François Damiens
Éric Elmosnino
Louane Emera
Music byEvgueni Galperine
Sacha Galperine
CinematographyRomain Winding
Edited byJennifer Augé
Production
company
France 2 Cinéma
Nexus Factory
Jerico
Mars Films
Quarante 12 Films
Vendôme Production
uMedia
Distributed byMars Distribution
Release date
  • 7 November 2014 (2014-11-07) (Arras Film Festival)
  • 17 December 2014 (2014-12-17) (France)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
French Sign Language
Budget$13 million[1]
Box office$72.8 million[2]

An English-language remake of the film, Coda, premiered in January 2021.

Plot

In the Bélier family, sixteen-year-old Paula is an indispensable interpreter for her deaf parents and brother on a daily basis, especially in the running of the family farm. One day, a music teacher discovers her gift for singing and encourages Paula to audition for the prestigious Maîtrise de Radio France music college in Paris, which will secure her a good career and a college degree. However, this decision would mean leaving her family and taking her first steps towards adulthood.[5]

Cast
Louane Emera and Éric Lartigau at a preview event.

Deaf response

Upon the film's release, The Independent reported the French deaf response, "Some—but not all—activists for the deaf are angry that two well-known actors with perfect hearing were cast to play Paula's parents who are Deaf Sign Language users. They also complain that the deaf characters are the main source of comedy in the film."[6] Rebecca Atkinson, writing an opinion for The Guardian, criticized the premise, "A hearing child grows up in a totally deaf farming family, only to have a talent for singing that her family can't appreciate or access." Atkinson said, "Hearing people's fascination with the relationship between music and deafness just does not resonate with most deaf people." Atkinson also criticized the casting, "The film uses hearing actors to play the roles of deaf characters, the result of which is an embarrassing and crass interpretation of deaf culture and sign language."[7]

Accolades
Award / Film Festival Category Recipients and nominees Result
César Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Actor François Damiens Nominated
Best Actress Karin Viard Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Éric Elmosnino Nominated
Most Promising Actress Louane Emera Won
Best Original Screenplay Victoria Bedos, Stanislas Carré de Malberg, Éric Lartigau and Thomas Bidegain Nominated
European Film Awards Best Comedy Nominated
Globes de Cristal Award Best Film Nominated
Best Actor François Damiens Nominated
Lumières Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Actress Karin Viard Won
Most Promising Actress Louane Emera Won
Best Screenplay Victoria Bedos, Stanislas Carré de Malberg, Éric Lartigau and Thomas Bidegain Nominated
Magritte Awards[8][9] Best Actor François Damiens Nominated
Best Foreign Film in Coproduction Won
Sarlat Film Festival[10] Salamandre d'or (Audience Award) Won

See also

References
  1. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&wk=2015W19&id=_fLAFAMILLEBLIER01
  2. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3547740/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
  3. "Jerico goes straight ahead with La famille Bélier". Cineuropa. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  4. http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/anurag-kashyap-vikas-bahl-to-remake-french-film-la-famille-belier-in-multiple-indian-languages/
  5. Institut français du Royaume-Uni. "La Famille Bélier, a Feel-good Movie à la française at Ciné Lumière!"
  6. Lichfield, John (17 December 2014). "La Famille Bélier is being touted as this year's Amelie - so why are many in the deaf community outraged by it?". The Independent. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  7. Atkinson, Rebecca (19 December 2014). "La Famille Bélier is yet another cinematic insult to the deaf community". The Guardian.
  8. "Les " Magritte du Cinéma ", c'est le 6 février prochain à 20h00". Cinergie.
  9. Moury, Gaëlle; Bradfer, Fabienne (February 7, 2016). "Jaco Van Dormael et la Flandre se distinguent aux Magritte du cinéma". Le Soir (in French). Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  10. "Festival du film de Sarlat : The Search et La Famille Bêlier au palmarès 2014". AlloCiné. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
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