The Speech (French: Le Discours) is a 2020 Franco-Belgian comedy film written and directed by Laurent Tirard, based on the 2018 novel Le Discours by Fabrice Caro. It stars Benjamin Lavernhe and Sara Giraudeau.[2] The film was selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival. It screened at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival on 1 September 2020. It was released in France on 9 June 2021.

The Speech
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLaurent Tirard
Screenplay byLaurent Tirard
Based onLe Discours
by Fabrice Caro
Produced byOlivia Lagache
Starring
CinematographyEmmanuel Soyer
Edited byValérie Deseine
Music byMathieu Lamboley
Production
companies
Distributed byLe Pacte
Release dates
  • 1 September 2020 (2020-09-01) (FFA)
  • 9 June 2021 (2021-06-09) (France)
Running time
87 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Belgium
LanguageFrench
Box office$3 million[1]

Cast

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Production

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The Speech was produced by Olivia Lagache for Les Films sur Mesure, and co-produced by Le Pacte, France 2 Cinéma, and the Belgian company Scope Pictures.[3]

Principal photography began on 21 October 2019,[4] and lasted six weeks, wrapping on 2 December in Paris.[3]

Release

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The Speech was included in the Comedy Films section of the official selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.[5] It was screened for press and industry in an online edition of the Cannes Marché du Film in June 2020.[6][7] The film was subsequently selected to be screened at the 13th Angoulême Francophone Film Festival,[8] where it had its world premiere on 1 September 2023.[9]

The film was initially scheduled to be released in theaters in France on 23 December 2020, which was rescheduled to March 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] As cinemas in France remained subject to outright closures,[11] the film was further postponed to an indefinite date. The Speech was finally released in France on 9 June 2021 by Le Pacte.[12] The film was distributed in Belgium on 23 June by Cinéart.[13]

Critical reception

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The Speech received an average rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 30 reviews.[14]

Cineuropa's Vittoria Scarpa gave the film a positive review, noting its "subtle sense of melancholy which lends depth to the story and resonates with the viewer".[15] La Nación's Milagros Amondaray gave the film a similarly positive review, concluding that "[w]hen it isn't cheesy or forced, The Speech is a welcome celebration of mistakes."[16] Clarín's Nazareno Brega gave the film a negative review, finding the main character unlikeable and annoying.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "The Speech (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Le Discours". Allocine.fr. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b Lemercier, Fabien (2 December 2019). "Filming has wrapped on The Speech by Laurent Tirard". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  4. ^ Meslet, Emilio (25 September 2019). "Laurent Tirard adapte au cinéma le roman Le Discours de Fabcaro". Trois couleurs (in French). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  5. ^ Sharf, Zack (3 June 2020). "Cannes Announces 2020 Official Lineup: 'French Dispatch,' 'Ammonite,' New McQueen and Ghibli". IndieWire. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  6. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (25 June 2020). "Charades Seals Major Territory Deals on Cannes Label Comedy 'The Speech' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  7. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (21 June 2020). "Cannes virtual market: buzz titles from France". Screen International. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Angoulême : toutes les avant-premières du FFA disponibles à la réservation". Sud Ouest (in French). 23 July 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  9. ^ "FFA2020_Programme" (PDF) (in French). Festival du film francophone d'Angoulême. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Pour Benjamin Lavernhe, "si la culture ne se défend pas, personne ne le fera pour elle"". France 24 (in French). Paris. AFP. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  11. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (20 May 2021). "French Cinemas Reopen With Full Screenings, Score Best European Restart". Variety. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  12. ^ Balle, Catherine; Baronian, Renaud; Jaeglé, Yves; Valentin, Michel (9 June 2021). "Sorties cinéma du 9 juin : Nomadland, Le Discours, Conjuring 3, les films à voir". Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Le Discours" (in French). Cinéart. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film Le Discours". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  15. ^ Scarpa, Vittoria (22 October 2020). "Review: The Speech". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  16. ^ Amondaray, Milagros (1 September 2022). "Estrenos de cine: El brindis es una creativa comedia francesa que se ríe de los dilemas cotidianos". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  17. ^ Brega, Nazareno (1 September 2022). "El brindis: una comedia francesa que no termina de arrancar". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
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