What Do The Critics Say?

"The absurdly talented Audrey Tautou is up to her usual seductress tricks in this Breakfast at Tiffany’s style flick. Cute, witty, romantic." COSMOPOLITAN "Audrey Tautou …delivers a performance that money can’t buy." Lex Hall FILMINK "Entertaining and marvellous to look at, PRICELESS is great escapism." Andrew L Urban URBANCINEFILE "An audacious reworking of Breakfast At Tiffany’s… starring the beguiling Audrey Tautou." David Smiedt MADISON "Here’s proof that the French can turn an essentially farcical story into a shrewdly observed, even realistic, study of human follies and foibles." Evan Williams THE AUSTRALIAN

"There are laughs galore. Audrey Tautou steals every scene as she exudes the same irrepressible charm she showed us in Amelie" Louise Keller URBANCINEFILE "A subtle French comedy filled with delightful, magical moments adults will truly appreciate." Richard Surfield THE MOVIE PAGES "Another wonderful, entertaining and funny work from the French." Stan James ADELAIDE ADVERTISER "Tautou has matured into the Audrey Hepburn of the 21st Century" Jennie Fitzhardinge PERTH NOW "Good clean fun … that had the preview audience breaking into applause more than once." Des Partridge THE COURIER MAIL

The Inside Story "Priceless" ("HORS DE PRIX") is the latest in a long line of delightful romantic comedies with a French touch. It's genesis is very ordinary indeed. "My scriptwriter Benoît Graffin and I looked at each other one day and decided that it was time to make another film. We agreed that it must be a comedy, once again," director Pierre Salvadori recalls. Why another comedy? "I don't know. The only other time I have ever done something different was in "Sand Merchants (LES MARCHANDS DE SABLE), it was ten times easier, and ten times less painful. I make comedies, it's my burden!," he notes. "I am obsessed with making successful comedy, comedy that is light and flowing. A pure, seamless movement. The first film that blew me away was a comedy, "Heaven Can Wait". I felt as though I was watching the perfect film in its connections, its rhythm, its lightness. Yet the characters in this film suffer, love, betray one another and still others disappear. Their existence is not an easy one, but the characters are bound by their pain and the screenplay is tightly held together to support this." And how did the story develope? "By talking through what bothered us, what worried us, the triumph of pragmatism, the pessimism surrounding us which at any given moment can switch to cynicism and lead us to believe that ultimately any way that will advance our cause is a good one." The first meeting of Jean and Irene is in itself comes about through mistaken identity but what follows is indeed 'priceless'. The two characters are very much distinguished by their station in life. How would you describe Irene? "A character who is fixated on one particular idea of happiness, who mistakenly confuses luxury with having a safety net in life," says Salvadori. And Jean? "Subdued, shy, almost to the point of being a servant to others." In many ways "Priceless" is a struggle of the classes then? Salvadori agrees. "I say it laughingly, but it's very true: the behaviour of Madeleine and Jacques towards Jean and Irene is very violent. These are people who own others. When Gilles leaves Irene, he takes back everything that he has given her. When Jacques leaves her, he cuts her credit card in two. Irene and Jean are at the disposal of others, they do not belong and this relationship is shown through several short, funny yet tough scenes in the film." And even though this is a romantic comedy, love isn't what saves Irene, is it? "No. In writing with Benoit, we wanted to escape from this illusionary answer that is often characteristic of sentimental comedies. Love is often suggested as being the only way out when we are faced with the pressures of the world. For Irene, love is a problem, not a solution! Love makes her fragile, scares her and distracts her. In the story, every time Irene allows herself to be seduced by love, she pays for it straight away: she is dumped, humiliated and made to pay." In fact what saves Irene in the end is her jelousy of Jean's success, right? "Irene has her life, her career all planned out, and love with all the sacrifice that it asks, plays absolutely no part in her plan. What saves Irene is jealousy, an irresistible feeling. We want her to struggle against her love until the end, and we want it to act as a force that ultimately saves her. It's quite animal really! Then again, maybe we need to rely on our animal instinct sometimes in order to stay human," Salvadori explained. Irene has a mean streak in her doesn't she. She is quite cruel to Jean in the beginning. Some would describe her as a bit of a tough nut, wouldn't they? "She is tough. She wants her part of the pie and knows that she possesses no particular talent aside that of giving pleasure to others. This is in a way a skill like any other. Irene is the determined soldier and Jean is her enemy in the sense that his presence is a threat to her. As soon as she feels as though she is weakening, that her defenses are giving way and that his presence is putting her in danger, she decides to remove him from the equation as a good soldier would." Now most film fans would know who Audrey Tautou is but many may not know who Gad Elmaleh is unless they have seen the very funny Francis Veber film, "The Valet" (LA DOUBLURE). Did you and Benoît Graffin write the script with Tautou and Elmaleh specifically in mind? "Yes, I was already thinking about Audrey's whimsical nature and what she could bring to this role through her acting. I had seen Gad on stage and I wanted to choose a comedian who could be almost invisible, neutral and able to progressively acquire an elegance, a certain beauty. Someone who could be a magician of sorts and who could also use their body in a precise, comic manner. It was after having seen Gad on stage that the opening scene was written," he says. The opening scenes with Jean are very clever and quite revealing as to what Jean is about? "Jean appears on screen pulled along by a pack of dogs and it is hard to tell whether he is walking the dogs or if it is really the dogs walking him! As a result of this scene, you form an image of a shy person, someone devoid of any real desire or will, who just allows themselves to be carried along by others. At the same time, you can tell that his character is slightly farcical and has the potential to throw a spanner in the works and upset the natural order of things." And is it true that this scene had a special significance for you? "It is a scene that I love because everything is said without a word. I try to immediately set the tone and style of the film. From the outset, we tried to write scenes of true cinematographic nature,situations that are destined to be filmed. Their value is not literary. You need to search for situations which are dramatically rich and contain expressive images." Synopsis

Jean, is a shy waiter working in a grand hotel. Irene makes her living attaching herself to wealthy older men with plenty of money who love to shower her with expensive gifts. Late at night the scheming adventuress leaves her 'friend' and makes her way to the hotel's bar. Here she mistakes Jean for a handsome, somewhat shy young millionaire. But when she awakes the next morning and discovers his lowly status, she beats a quick retreat. But lovestruck Jean has no intention of letting her escape, and pursues her to the Cote d'Azur. Quickly running out of money, the lovestruck young man adopts his beloved's lifestyle, setting himself up as a gigolo and moving into the same magnificent luxury hotel as Irene and her new 'friend'. Irene at last accepts this new Jean. She starts giving him advice and as she does so, grows closer and closer to him. Is love is working its subtle magic on her too?

The Verdict "Voici au comédie français. Long peut il nous maintenir amusés et contents. Audrey Tautou est doux, convainquant et à cette occasion, très séduisant. Quite often something very special is produced when the French combine romance and comedy in a film. "Hors de prix", a charming production is evidence of how good it can get. It's a subtle, "Priceless" story, filled with delicious comedic delights adults will truly appreciate. Gad Elmaleh is the perfect foil for Tautou's Hepburn-like role. Tautou's performance as the schemimg Irene is as precious as a perfectly cut Tiffany diamond. The settings are superbe! As for the supporting cast, it is très magnifique! Désirent ardemment le comédie français de phase. Pierre Salvadori and Benoît Graffin's story is a truffled delight. Très recommandé. 4 STARS. Cast & Crew Bytes "PRICELESS" stars .......
Audrey Tautou ["Amelie", "Dirty Pretty Things", "A Very Long Engagement", "The Russian Dolls" and "The Da Vinci Code"]; Gad Elmaleh ["Would I Lie to You? 2", "The Dope", "Olé!" and "The Valet"]; Marie Christine Adam ["Would I Lie to You? 2", "Le Divorce", "One Stays, the Other Leaves" and "Au suivant!"]; Didier Brice ["Only God Sees Me", "Irène" and "Look at Me"]; Annelise Hesme ["All About Love", "Speak to Me of Love", "Le Candidat" and "2 filles"] and Vernon Dobtcheff ["Before Sunset", "Somewhere", "An American Haunting" and "L' Attracteur étrange"] as Jacques.
"PRICELESS" was .......
directed by Pierre Salvadori ["Ménage", "White Lies", "The Sandmen" and "Après vous"]; screenplay by Pierre Salvadori ["Ménage", "White Lies", "The Sandmen", "Francisca" and "After You"] and Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival Award winner Benoît Graffin ["Le New Yorker", "Beach Cafe", "Après vous" and "Ambitious"]; casting by by Alain Charbit ["Le Pornographe", "The Sandmen", "We Need A Vacation" and "Après vous"]; edited by Isabelle Devinck ["The Sandmen", "Love Forbidden", "After You" and "The Last Day"]; cinematography by Gilles Henry ["Van Gogh", "Les Apprentis", "The Sandmen" and "Après vous"]; original music by Camille Bazbaz ["White Lies", "The Sandmen" and "Après vous"]; produced by Philippe Martin ["The Sandmen", "After You", "Venus and Fleur" and "How I Celebrated the End of the World "]. Who's Who?

Gad Elmaleh Audrey Tautou Marie-Christine Adam Vernon Dobtcheff Jacques Spiesser Annelise Hesme Charlotte Vermeil Claudine Baschet Laurent Claret Jean de Coninck Blandine Pélissier Philippe Vendan-Borin Bernard Bourdeau Didier Brice Frédéric Bocquet Jean-Michel Lahmi Guillaume Verdier

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Jean Irène Madeleine Jacques Gilles Agnès La dame au chihuahua La dame au dogue Le responsable du bar à Biarritz Le client au cigare La femme de chambre Le serveur au restaurant à Biarritz Le collègue de Jean à Biarritz François Le réceptionniste à Monaco Le chirurgien esthétique Le serveur à la piscine

Run Time M minutes Rated 106 [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Dendy Films - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.