Grand Central is a 2013 French-Austrian romance film co-written and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival[3] where it won the François Chalais Prize.[4]

Grand Central
French release poster
Directed byRebecca Zlotowski
Written byRebecca Zlotowski
Gaëlle Macé
Produced byFrédéric Jouve
StarringTahar Rahim
Léa Seydoux
CinematographyGeorges Lechaptois
Edited byJulien Lacheray
Music byRobin Coudert
Production
companies
Les Films Velvet
France 3 Cinéma
Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production
Distributed byAd Vitam Distribution
Release dates
  • 18 May 2013 (2013-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 28 August 2013 (2013-08-28) (France)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountriesFrance
Austria
LanguageFrench
Budget$3.9 million
Box office$1.7 million[2]

Plot

edit

Gary, an unskilled young man, lands a job as a decontamination sub-contractor at a nuclear power plant in the lower valley of the Rhone. Inducted into the workforce by supervisor Gilles and veteran Toni, Gary discovers that radiation contamination is not just a risk factor but an everyday hazard. At the same time, he begins an illicit affair with Karole, Toni's fiancée. It turns out that Toni is sterile, and Karole becomes pregnant by Gary.

Cast

edit

Soundtrack

edit

Indie pop singer Jeremy Jay recorded the song "Ghost Tracks" for the soundtrack.[5]

Reception

edit

Critical response

edit

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 29 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Disquieting, smartly scripted, and rounded out by a talented cast, Grand Central finds director Rebecca Zlotowski taking a remarkable step forward."[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7]

Accolades

edit
Award / Film Festival Category Recipients and nominees Result
Cabourg Film Festival Grand Prix Grand Central Won
2013 Cannes Film Festival François Chalais Prize Grand Central Won
Prix Un Certain Regard Grand Central Nominated
39th César Awards[8][9] Best Supporting Actor Olivier Gourmet Nominated
Globes de Cristal Award Best Film Grand Central Nominated
19th Lumières Awards Best Film Grand Central Nominated
Best Director Rebecca Zlotowski Nominated
Best Actor Tahar Rahim Nominated
Best Actress Léa Seydoux Won
Special Jury Prize Grand Central Won
4th Magritte Awards Best Supporting Actor Olivier Gourmet Nominated

References

edit
  1. ^ "Grand Central (15)". StudioCanal. British Board of Film Classification. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  2. ^ "Grand Central (2013)- JPBox-Office". Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Cannes:le prix François Chalais attribué à Rebecca Zlotowski pour "Grand Central"". Le Monde.fr. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. ^ Jeremy Jay. Frenchsymphony.com Retrieved 21 April 2015
  6. ^ "Grand Central". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 18 December 2023.  
  7. ^ "Grand Central". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Berenice Bejo, Lea Seydoux, Roman Polanski Among France's Cesar Awards Nominees". Hollywood Reporter. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  9. ^ "France's Cesar Awards: 'Me, Myself and Mum' Wins Best Film". Hollywood Reporter. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
edit