The Path of Excellence

The Path of Excellence (French: La Voie royale) is a 2023 drama film directed by Frédéric Mermoud. It was written by Mermoud alongside Salvatore Lista and Anton Likiernik. It had its world premiere at the 76th Locarno Film Festival on 3 August 2023.

The Path of Excellence
Promotional poster
FrenchLa Voie royale
Directed byFrédéric Mermoud
Written by
  • Frédéric Mermoud
  • Salvatore Lista
  • Anton Likiernik
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTristan Tortuyaux
Edited bySarah Anderson
Music byAudrey Ismaël
Production
companies
  • Tabo Tabo Films
  • Bande à Part Film
  • Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
Distributed byPyramide Distribution
Release date
  • 3 August 2023 (2023-08-03) (Locarno)
Running time
109 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Switzerland
LanguageFrench
Box office$1,073,851[1]

Premise

edit

Sophie, the daughter of a farming family, struggles to integrate into social life after enrolling in a classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles in Lyon.[2]

Cast

edit
  • Suzanne Jouannet as Sophie Vasseur
  • Marie Colomb as Diane Le Goff
  • Maud Wyler as Claire Fresnel, the physics teacher in the preparatory class
  • Marilyne Canto as Caroline Vasseur, Sophie's mother
  • Lorenzo Lefebvre as Hadrien Loiseau
  • Cyril Metzger as Laurent Vasseur, Sophie's brother
  • Alexandre Desrousseaux as Jules Couvreur
  • Antoine Chappey as Gérard Vasseur, Sophie's father

Production

edit

The principal photography took place between October and November 2022 in Lyon and Paris.[3] It also took place in Essonne, where a casting call for extras was published in early November.[4]

Release

edit

The Path of Excellence had its world premiere at the 76th Locarno Film Festival on 3 August 2023 during the Piazza Grande section.[5] The film was released in French cinema on 9 August 2023.[6] It garnered 35,015 admissions in its first week of release.[7] It achieved 157,671 admissions during its theatrical run.[8]

Reception

edit

Critical reception

edit

The Path of Excellence received an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 18 reviews.[9]

Accolades

edit
Film festival or award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Lumières Award 22 January 2024 Best Female Revelation Suzanne Jouannet Nominated [10]
César Awards 23 February 2024 Best Female Revelation Nominated [11]
Swiss Film Awards 22 March 2024 Best Feature Film The Path of Excellence Nominated [12][13]
Best Supporting Actress Maud Wyler Won
Best Screenplay Frédéric Mermoud, Salvatore Lista, and Anton Likiernik Nominated
Best Editing Sarah Anderson Nominated

References

edit
  1. ^ "The Path of Excellence". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  2. ^ "THE PATH OF EXCELLENCE". Pyramide Films. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  3. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (14 October 2022). "Frédéric Mermoud is shooting The Path of Excellence". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Essonne. Des figurants recherchés pour le tournage d'un long-métrage". Ouest-France. 4 November 2022. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  5. ^ Baughan, Nikki (31 July 2023). "Locarno 2023 line-up guide: Piazza Grande and International Competition titles". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  6. ^ "« La Voie royale », « Animalia », « Un coup de maître »… Les sorties cinéma du 9 août". La Croix. 9 August 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Box Office du film La Voie royale". AlloCiné. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  8. ^ "La Voie royale (The Path of Excellence) (2023)". JP Box-Office. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  9. ^ "La Voie Royale - Film 2023". AlloCiné. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  10. ^ Roxborough, Scott (14 December 2023). "'Anatomy of a Fall' Leads France's Lumiere Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  11. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (24 January 2024). "'The Animal Kingdom' Leads Nominations For France's 2024 César Awards, Followed By 'Anatomy Of A Fall' – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  12. ^ Wyrsch, Georges (24 January 2024). "Schweizer Filmpreis 2024: Die Romandie hat die Nase vorn". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  13. ^ Del Don, Muriel (25 March 2024). "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry and The Hearing are voted Best Fiction Film and Best Documentary at the Swiss Film Awards". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
edit