''The Last Days of Chez Nous'' is a 1992 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Gillian Armstrong and written by Helen Garner. Made in a style that emphasizes naturalism over melodrama, the film centres on what happens after Vicki arrives at the house of her older sister Beth, whose

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

husband falls for her. The film stars Bruno Ganz as the Frenchman JP,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

actor Kerry Fox as the impulsive younger sister, and Lisa Harrow as her older sibling. The cast also includes Miranda Otto and Bill Hunter.

Plot

Cast

* Lisa Harrow as Beth * Bruno Ganz as J.P. * Kerry Fox as Vicki * Miranda Otto as Annie * Kiri Paramore as Tim * Bill Hunter as Beth's Father * Lex Marinos as Angelo * Mickey Camilleri as Sally * Lynne Murphy as Beth's Mother * Claire Haywood as Janet * Leanne Bundy as Susie * Wilson Alcorn as Cafe Dero

Production

Helen Garner had written her first script for Jan Chapman, ''2 Friends''. The two of them worked on the idea of ''Chez Nous'' for a number of years before developing it into a screenplay. Chapman then approached Gillian Armstrong who said:

I really loved it because I love Helen's writing. I think she has incredibly acute observation of people and wonderful poetry in her writing. I did think the biggest challenge was that so much was in one house, but I took that on board and thought, well, we'll just have to do everything possible to make people still feel they're watching a movie. After all, the house is also a character in the story."Interview with Gillian Armstrong", ''Signet'', 4 September 1998
Retrieved 17 November 2012

The film was entirely funded by the Film Fund of the Film Finance Corporation. Armstrong made the movie straight after ''Fires Within'' and enjoyed it much more because the Hollywood film had been such a bad experience.

Release and reception

The film opened in Melbourne on 8 October 1992 at Greater Union Pitt Centre, Academy Twin and GU Mosman, and the same day in Melbourne at Village Rivoli Twin and Forest Hill Showcase.'The Last Days of Chez Nous'
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Ozmovies
retrieved 14 October 2017. Lisa Harrow won the

Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role The AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest ach ...

, and the film was nominated for the AFI's Best Picture award. The film was entered into the

42nd Berlin International Film Festival The 42nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1992. The festival opened with '' The Inner Circle'' by Andrei Konchalovsky. The Golden Bear was awarded to American film ''Grand Canyon'' directed by Lawrence Ka ...

. The film held a 83% "Fresh" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

as of October 2019, based on 12 reviews. ''The Last Days of Chez Nous'' grossed $1,018,866 at the box office in Australia.''Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''
/ref> Commercially, it was the most successful of the Film Finance Fund's "Chook Raffle" slate of five films.

References

External links

* *
The Last Days of Chez Nous at the National Film and Sound ArchiveThe Last Days of Chez Nous
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Ozmovies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Days of Chez Nous 1992 films 1992 drama films Australian drama films Australian independent films Films directed by Gillian Armstrong 1992 independent films 1990s English-language films