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» » Sélect Hôtel (1996)

Short summary

It's a hotel with walls in the corridor covered with striped paper, crossed like bars of a dingy prison, its rooms as large as cells. The Select Hotel is a dead end place for those who do not have enough cash to go somewhere else. The last shelter for those who hang around at night. These shadows walking silently along the streets, selling their poor body heat for a few crumpled banknotes, swallow and digested by their voracious thirst for a cheap high. Enough to forget for a while the distress of a ruined life and to dream of a more rejoicing elsewhere. Nathalie and her brother Tof struggle against this futureless world. Pierre, a shoe-repairer, troubled by Nathalie's grace will take part for a while to the life of these two children of misery.

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  • comment
    • Author: Kamuro
    I've seen this film in Istanbul International Film Festival a couple years ago. It's not exactly the type of film for those who go to the cinema for the sole purpose of "having fun", but more like the type for those who want to think and think and think again about the scenes they "witnessed".

    The acting is good, the plot is strong, and there's a healthy amount of seriousness and real-life-practice situations. You end up feeling sorry for the heroin-addicted siblings despite the fact that they're not quite innocent.

    Like most French films, this one is also sad and depressing. The harsh reality of life in its extreme has been kneaded by brilliant filmmaking. I think it could very well be compared to Amélie. Definitely worth seeing. Probably even more so if you understand Parisian backstreet slang, which turns out to be the main speech code of the film.
  • Cast overview, first billed only:
    Julie Gayet Julie Gayet - Nathalie
    Jean-Michel Fête Jean-Michel Fête - Tof
    Serge Blumental Serge Blumental - Pierre
    Marc Andréoni Marc Andréoni - Denis
    Sabine Bail Sabine Bail - Clementine
    Eric Aubrahn Eric Aubrahn - Lydie
    Emmanuelle Rozes Emmanuelle Rozes - Anne
    Michel Gondoin Michel Gondoin - Marcel
    Aminata Falldiop Aminata Falldiop - Une amie prostituée de nathalie
    Stéphanie Stéphanie - Travestie du sélect amie de nath
    Karima Karima - Travestie du select amie de nath
    Fabien Carrara Fabien Carrara - Cast Member
    Philippe Collin Philippe Collin - Cast Member
    Philippe Duquesne Philippe Duquesne - Cast Member
    Patrick Tessari Patrick Tessari - Monsieur Saint-Paul
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