LE DIVORCE

Year: 2003
USA: Fox Searchlight
UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Stockard Channing, Sam Waterston, Thierry Lhermitte, Leslie Caron, Bebe Neuwirth, Matthew Modine, Romain Duris, Jean-Marc Barr, Samuel Labarthe, Stephen Fry, Thomas Lennon, Melvil Poupaud, Catherine Samie, Nathalie Richard, Françoise Brion, Rona Hartner, Helene Surgere, Laurent Schwaar, Philip Tabor
Director: James Ivory
Countries: USA / France
USA: 115 mins
UK: 117 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements and sexual content
UK Certificate: 12A contains moderate language and brief injury
USA Release Date: 8 August 2003
UK Release Date: 19 September 2003


Synopsis

When two American sisters become caught up in the intimate intrigue of Paris, cultures and human passions collide - and the result is a comedy of manners and morals, money and marriage, sex and sorority that sheds incandescent light on what it means to be an American abroad.

LE DIVORCE follows the journey of Isabel Walker (Kate Hudson), a quintessential young Californian newly arrived in the City of Light to visit her pregnant sister, Roxeanne (Naomi Watts). A darkly romantic poet, Roxy has just been jilted by her scoundrel husband, Charles-Henri de Persand (Melvil Poupaud), and it appears they are headed for "le divorce." Meanwhile, Isabel leaps into l'amour with a married French diplomat (Thierry Lhermitte) who happens to be the uncle of Roxy's soon-to-be-ex. As scandal ensues, the American idealism and irrepressible spirit of the Walker sisters comes up against the French sophistication and stubborn rationalism of the Persand family. Complicating the two families' relations is a painting in Roxy's possession that is discovered to be worth millions of dollars. And then, quite suddenly, a crime of passion disrupts all the scheming and culture clashes - and opens up new possibilities for understanding.

Based on the best-selling novel by Diane Johnson, LE DIVORCE is a new twist on the classic American-in-Paris theme. At a time when French and American cultures have seemingly never been more embattled, LE DIVORCE reveals the rich complexity of the two cultures - and their compellingly different attitudes toward morality, sex, food, fashion, and the very pursuit of life. But at its core, LE DIVORCE is really about its irrepressible heroine, Isabel Walker, who arrives in Paris to help her sister - only to discover her own desires and viewpoint on the world.

DVD EXTRAS

Certificate: 12
Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Original Aspect Ratio: (16X9) 1.85
Sound & Picture Quality: Dolby surround 2.0