Coûte que coûte
France,
1996, 95 min
Shown in 2000
CREDITS
- dir
-
Claire Simon
- prod
-
Serge Lalou, Richard Copans
- cam
-
Claire Simon
- editor
-
Catherine Quesemand
- source
-
Les Films d’Ici, 12, rue Clavel, 75019 Paris, France. FAX: 33-1-44-52-23-24. EMAIL: les.films.d-ici@wanuldo.fr
- premiere
-
U.S. Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Claire Simon in person.
OTHER
An antidote to the media’s enchantment with computer start-ups, Claire Simon’s fascinating observational documentary takes us behind the scenes of a small catering company in southern France. Owner Jihad, a former secretary to the Tunisian Consul General, hurries through his spotless commercial kitchen, urging the chef to buy some rabbits for a lunch he is preparing. “Business is about clients... profitability comes after... trust me!” Out of earshot, the cook mumbles, “That’s why we’re in trouble.” Potential partners, possible clients and reluctant bankers meet with Jihad to negotiate deals while his employees argue for back pay and the phone jangles with suppliers seeking payment. Jihad meets them all with an openness spiced with anxiety. Assertions such as “I’ll keep this company going!” are seasoned with the owner’s entreaties, “Please be patient a little while longer.” When asked about his books and debt, Jihad replies “It’s terrifying!” Meanwhile, the chef wonders how to cook without ingredients. And yet “at all costs” Jihad continues to relish his enterprise and his employees. This situation’s attributable to the nature of capitalism—he seems to be at once on a downward spiral and about to make it big. It’s a culinary thriller—trust me.
—Kathy Geritz
FACTOID #80
The globetrotting thespian Anthony Quinn attended the 1969 San Francisco International Film Festival in support of the Opening Night film The Secret of Santa Vittoria, in which he played the half-drunk mayor of an Italian hamlet, protecting his town’s wine collection from German soldiers.
