''Un aller simple'' (''One-way ticket'') is a 2001 French adventure-comedy film directed by

Laurent Heynemann Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

, adapted from the novel of the same name by

Didier Van Cauwelaert Didier Van Cauwelaert (; born 29 July 1960) is a French author and director of Belgian descent who was born in Nice. In 1994 his novel '' Un Aller simple'' won the Prix Goncourt. In 1997 he was awarded the Grand prix du théâtre de l’Académ ...

, which had won the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

in 1994.

Plot

Aziz ( Lorant Deutsch) was born in France, the child of unknown parents. Gathered up by gypsies from the area north of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, he has grown up as a Moroccan national. Jean-Pierre (

Jacques Villeret Jacques Villeret (; 6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy '' Le Dîner de Cons''. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious ...

), is a civil servant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is being cheated on by his wife who is having an affair with his boss and he no longer feels attached to his Parisian life. It is given to Jean-Pierre to 're-integrate' Aziz, a stolen baby, raised by gypsies, neither Arab nor gypsy, into his 'native' country of Morocco. Aziz is an interesting client for him. But Aziz is just a young man without sure roots who has never set foot in Morocco, though he affects to belong to the tribe of the ''Grey Men of Irghiz'' who live in a forbidden city high in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

. And the two rootless men make the acquaintance of the sparkling Valerie (

Barbara Schulz Barbara Schulz is a French actress who won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti in 2001. She was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for the 1999 film '' La Dilettante''. For her performances on the stage, Schulz has been nominate ...

) who will act as their guide.

Cast

as Jean-Pierre *

as Valerie *

Lorànt Deutsch Lorànt Deutsch (; born László Matekovics on 27 October 1975), is a French actor and writer. Deutsch was born in Alençon to a Hungarian-Jewish father and a Romanian mother. An ardent Catholic, Deutsch says he is a royalist. In 2005, Deuts ...

as Aziz *

Jean Benguigui Jean Benguigui (born 8 April 1944 in Oran) is a French actor. He is of Jewish-Algerian descent. In 2006 and 2007 he played the role of impresario Cartoni in a new adaptation of the operetta Le Chanteur de Mexico at the Théâtre du Châtelet ...

as Place Vendôme *

Eva Ionesco Eva Ionesco (born 18 July 1965) is a French actress and filmmaker. She is the daughter of photographer Irina Ionesco and came to international prominence as a child model after being featured in her mother's works. Early life Ionesco was born t ...

as Clémentine *

Melissa Mars Melissa Mars is a French singer, songwriter, and actress who rose to prominence in the early 2000s for her performances on stage. Hailing from Marseille, France, Melissa Mars displayed an early interest in the performing arts. She embarked on ...

as Lila

References

External links

* 2001 films 2000s French-language films 2001 comedy-drama films French comedy-drama films Films about orphans Films based on French novels Films scored by Bruno Coulais 2000s French films Films based on works by Didier Van Cauwelaert French-language comedy-drama films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub