It all begins in the North of France.
Ali suddenly finds himself with a five year-old child on his hands. Sam is his son, but he hardly knows him. Homeless, penniless and friendless, Ali takes refuge with his sister in Antibes. There things improve immediately. She puts them up in her garage, she takes the child under her wing and the weather is glorious.
Ali first runs into Stephanie during a night club brawl. He drives her home and leaves her his phone number. He is poor, she is beautiful and self-assured.
Stephanie trains killer whales at Marineland. When a performance ends in tragedy, a call in the night again brings them together.
When Ali sees her next, his princess is confined to a wheel chair: she has lost her legs and quite a few illusions. He simply helps her, with no compassion or pity. And she comes alive again.
Original title: De rouille et d’os
2011 – 1h55 min – Drama – France, Belgium
With: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts
Cannes – Competition (2012)