''Nelly and Mr. Arnaud'' (french: Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud) is a 1995 French film directed by

Claude Sautet Claude Sautet (23 February 1924 – 22 July 2000) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was a chronicler of post-war French society. He made a total of five films with his favorite actress Romy Schneider. Biography Born in Montrou ...

and starring

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

Emmanuelle Béart Emmanuelle Béart (born 14 August 1963)
''Tecinema.jeuxactu.com''. Retrieved 21 April 2020. is a F ...

and

Jean-Hugues Anglade Jean-Hugues Anglade (born 29 July 1955) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, known for his roles as Eric in ''Killing Zoe'', Zorg in ''Betty Blue'' and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita in '' Nikita''. Personal life Anglade was born ...

. It won the

César Award for Best Director This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Director (French: ''César du meilleur réalisateur''). History Superlatives Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins and nomination ...

and Best Actor for

Plot

Nelly (Béart) is married to Jerôme (Berling), a man who is unemployed and has stopped searching for work. Nelly was made redundant from her publishing job and now just has odd jobs at a printing shop and a bakery, so has fallen six months behind on the rent for their apartment. Talking with her friend Jacqueline (Nadeau) at a coffee shop, she encounters Pierre Arnaud, a wealthy, retired businessman who had a languid affair with Jacqueline in the past and who had seen Nelly in the past at one of Jacqueline's parties. After discovering Nelly is in debt, Arnaud offers to give Nelly 30,000 francs as a gift. Nelly reluctantly accepts, pays her overdue rent and then leaves her husband and moves out. Nelly agrees to type Arnaud's memoirs, but he insists this will not be to repay the gift; he will pay her. Working at Arnaud's apartment, Nelly learns Arnaud was a judge in a colony, and later a businessman; he is separated from his wife and estranged from his two children. Nelly has an affair with Vincent (Anglade), Arnaud's editor. Arnaud feels jealous although his exact feelings for the much younger Nelly never become entirely clear. Vincent rents a new apartment and then asks Nelly to move in. She refuses, telling him she doesn't want to change the character of their relationship, and Vincent breaks up with her. She continues working for Arnaud until his wife Lucie (Brion) returns from Geneva for a few days after her companion dies suddenly. Nelly comes to work one morning and finds Arnaud and Lucie with their bags packed about to leave. Arnaud tells Nelly that he and his wife have decided to take a long round the world trip that they always had dreamed. The film ends with Arnaud at the airport looking wistful and uncertain, and with Nelly bringing Arnaud's manuscript to Vincent's office where she is sure to see her former lover.

Cast

Emmanuelle Béart Emmanuelle Béart (born 14 August 1963)
''Tecinema.jeuxactu.com''. Retrieved 21 April 2020. is a F ...

as Nelly *

as Pierre Arnaud *

as Vincent Granec *

Claire Nadeau Claire Nadeau (born 1 June 1945) is a French actress. Theater Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nadeau, Claire French film actresses 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses Actresses from P ...

as Jacqueline *

Françoise Brion Françoise Brion (; born 29 January 1933) is a French film actress. She has appeared in 75 films since 1957. She starred in the 1963 film '' L'Immortelle'', which was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival. She was married to ...

as Lucie *

Michèle Laroque Michèle Laroque (; born 15 June 1960) is a French actress, comedian, humorist, producer and screenwriter. Early life Michèle Laroque was born in Nice in the department of Alpes-Maritimes. She is the daughter of Romanian dancer and violinis ...

as Isabelle * Michael Lonsdale as Dolabella *

Charles Berling Charles Berling (born 30 April 1958) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. Life and career Charles Berling, son of a navy doctor, is also the nephew of the literary critic Raymond Picard. His mother, Nadia, "only daughter of (French) s ...

as Jerôme

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 96% based on reviews from 23 critics.

Awards and nominations

* BAFTA Awards (UK) **Nominated: Best Film not in the English Language *

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

(France) **Won: Best Actor – Leading Role (Michel Serrault) **Won:

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

(Claude Sautet) **Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Jean-Hugues Anglade) **Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Michael Lonsdale) **Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Emmanuelle Béart) **Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Claire Nadeau) **Nominated: Best Editing (Jacqueline Thiédot) **Nominated: Best Film **Nominated: Best Music (Philippe Sarde **Nominated: Best Sound (Pierre Lenoir and Jean-Paul Loublier) **Nominated: Best Writing (Jacques Fieschi and Claude Sautet) * David di Donatello Awards (Italy) **Won: Best Foreign Film *

Valladolid Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

**Nominated:

Golden Spike The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6- karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...

(Claude Sautet) *Won:

Louis Delluc Prize The Louis Delluc Prize (french: Prix Louis-Delluc ) is a French film award presented annually since 1937. The award is bestowed to the Best Film and Best First Film of the year on the second week of each December. The jury is composed of 20 members, ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1995 films 1995 drama films French drama films 1990s French-language films Films directed by Claude Sautet Films whose director won the Best Director César Award Films featuring a Best Actor César Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Actor Lumières Award-winning performance Louis Delluc Prize winners Films produced by Alain Sarde Films scored by Philippe Sarde 1990s French films