Finalement (transl. Finally) is a 2024 French comedy drama film directed by Claude Lelouch. It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2024 and will receive a theatrical release in France on 13 November 2024.

Finalement
French theatrical release poster
Directed byClaude Lelouch
Written by
Starring
CinematographyMaxine Heraud
Edited byStéphane Mazalaigue
Music byIbrahim Maalouf
Production
companies
Distributed byMetropolitan Filmexport
Release dates
  • 2 September 2024 (2024-09-02) (Venice)
  • 13 November 2024 (2024-11-13) (France)
Running time
129 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

Premise

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A lawyer, having lost his ability to tell lies, embarks on a road trip across France.

Cast

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Production

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Regarding the film, director Claude Lelouch stated, "Finalement is certainly a film about France, but also about the French, about family, about freedom, about solitude, about appearances, about music, about cinema."[1] He stated that the character of Lino was inspired by "brilliant attorneys" such as Robert Badinter and Éric Dupond-Moretti.[2]

Filming took place in Beaune and Saône-et-Loire in mid-2023.[3][4] Filming also took place at the Stéphane Rolland fashion show at the Palais Garnier on 4 July 2023.[5]

Music

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Finalement (Bande originale du film)
Soundtrack album by
Released5 July 2024 (2024-07-05)
Genre
Length67:41
LabelMister Ibé
Finalement (Bande originale du film)
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Thème de Lino"Ibrahim MaaloufIbrahim Maalouf4:50
2."Le roman de Marianne"Ibrahim Maalouf3:23
3."Finalement (Par Kad Merad)"
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Kad Merad
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
4:20
4."Le rêve de Lino"Ibrahim MaaloufIbrahim Maalouf2:02
5."Mi-temps"Ibrahim MaaloufIbrahim Maalouf0:53
6."La folie des sentiments (Par Barbara Pravi)"
  • Claude Lelouch
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • Laure Barbelivien
  • Barbara Pravi
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
3:06
7."Thème de Lino en si bémol"Ibrahim Maalouf
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
5:08
8."Thème de Manon"Ibrahim Maalouf
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
3:28
9."La solitude d'une trompette"Ibrahim Maalouf
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
3:55
10."L'aventure sera toujours l'aventure (Par Barbara Pravi)"Didier Barbelivien
  • Barbara Pravi
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
2:46
11."Ça ne finira jamais"Ibrahim Maalouf
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
3:55
12."Finalement (Par Kad Merad et Barbara Pravi)"
  • Claude Lelouch
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • Laure Barbelivien
  • Barbara Pravi
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Kad Merad
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
4:20
13."Mélange de genres"
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
7:03
14."Un piano et une trompette (Par Kad Merad)"
  • Didier Barbelivien
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Kad Merad
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
5:28
15."À toute allure"Ibrahim MaaloufIbrahim Maalouf4:57
16."Deuxième mi-temps"Ibrahim MaaloufIbrahim Maalouf1:34
17."Un piano et une trompette - Orchestral"Ibrahim Maalouf
  • François Boulanger
  • Ibrahim Maalouf
  • Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine
5:27
18."When the Saints Go Marching In (Gospel)"TraditionalIbrahim Maalouf1:06
Total length:67:41

Release

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The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2024.[6][7]

Reception

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Boyd van Hoeij of Screen Daily wrote, "The sheer filmmaking pleasure and mastery of Lelouch behind the camera is especially evident in the first hour or so, with [Stéphane] Mazalaigue's editing deserving a special mention for how it keeps all of the different narrative layers laid out so clearly. But the plot's necessity to build to some kind of logical finale with increasingly higher stakes causes an initially smooth-running train to increasingly splutter."[8]

Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "cluttered, often baffling" and wrote, "[Claude Lelouch] falls some way short of his glory days in this muddled, sentimental tale of a lawyer grappling with mortality and truth, but his devotees will find much to chew on."[9]

Jan Lumholdt of Cineuropa called the film "a mixture of 'greatest hits' put in a bag of old tricks, shaken and stirred".[10]

Alberto Crespi of La Repubblica gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "...[T]his new film, despite some slowness in the finale, is a delight. And above all it is a surprising film."[11]

Movieplayer.it gave the film three out of five stars, calling it a "half-successful film" and writing, "...Lelouch's film manages to demonstrate the lability of human existence; a performance recited without scripts, but improvising, just like a jazz concert. Between constant leaps between reality and imagination, the film ultimately borders on an unsustainable paroxysm, which disorients and slows down the process of identification of a confused and not always happy audience."[12]

References

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  1. ^ Dal Toso, Emiliano (2 September 2024). "A Venezia 81 Claude Lelouch presenta il suo film Finalement". Elle Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  2. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (21 May 2023). "Claude Lelouch to Shoot New Movie 'Finalement…' With Cast Including Kad Merad, Elsa Zylberstein, Metropolitan FilmExport On Board (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  3. ^ Ringeval, Baptiste (24 May 2023). "Beaune. Des figurants recherchés pour le prochain film de Claude Lelouch avec Kad Merad". Actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  4. ^ Desroche, Nicolas (28 August 2024). "Montmort. Tourné en partie en Saône-et-Loire, le dernier film de Lelouch sortira le 13 novembre". Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  5. ^ Julienne, Florence (5 July 2023). "Finalement, Claude Lelouch tourne son prochain film pendant le défilé de Stéphane Rolland". FashionUnited (in French). Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  6. ^ Aricò, Giacomo (2 August 2024). "Festival di Venezia 2024, il programma con film e ospiti: chi sono le star di oggi?". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  7. ^ Baronian, Renaud (2 September 2024). "Mostra de Venise : on a vu « Finalement », le nouveau Claude Lelouch". Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  8. ^ van Hoeij, Boyd (2 September 2024). "'Finally': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  9. ^ Lodge, Guy (3 September 2024). "'Finally' Review: Claude Lelouch's Bizarre Male-Crisis Comedy Feels Like a Farewell". Variety. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  10. ^ Lumholdt, Jan (3 September 2024). "Review: Finalement". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  11. ^ Crespi, Alberto (3 September 2024). "'Finalement' di Claude Lelouch: una commedia libera e gioiosa sulla follia dei sentimenti". La Repubblica (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  12. ^ Torsiello, Elisa (3 September 2024). "Finalement, recensione: la vita secondo Claude Lelouch? A ritmo di tromba". Movieplayer.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
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