Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, whose previous film, CITY OF GOD, won awards all over the world--and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2004 Oscars--has crafted another highly entertaining yet important film. Beautifully shot in Kenya, Germany, Sudan, Manitoba, and London, THE CONSTANT GARDENER, based on a bestselling novel by John Le Carré, is an exciting mix of romance and spy thriller. Ralph Fiennes stars as Justin Quayle, a low-level British diplomat who has always gone about his work very quietly, not causing any problems. But after his radical wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), is killed, he becomes determined to find out why, thrusting himself into the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy. Jeffrey Caine's powerful screenplay alternates between flashbacks of Justin and Tessa's relationship and Justin's hunt for the truth, which makes him a target--although he doesn't know who is after him. Fine support is offered by Danny Huston as his close friend and confidant, Sandy; Bill Nighy as shady British official Sir Bernard Pellegrin; and Hubert Koundé as Arnold Bluhm, an African doctor who might have been a little too friendly with Tessa. Meirelles's pacing is outstanding, switching effortlessly between political intrigue, action adventure, and love story. And Fiennes and Weisz give strong performances playing complex characters that will continually surprise the audience. THE CONSTANT GARDENER is a thrilling tale from start to finish.
Theatrical Release: August 26, 2005 (Limited)
August 31, 2005 (National)
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Dual Side - Single Layer
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digita 5.1 French
Subtitles - English (SDH)
Subtitles - French
Subtitles - Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Extended Scene - Haruma - Play In Kibera
Featurette - 1. EMBRACING AFRICA: FILMING IN KENYA
2. JOHN LE CARRE: FROM PAGE TO THE SCREEN
3. ANATOMY OF A GLOBAL THRILLER: BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Stars
Ralph Fiennes: British Actor
Rachel Weisz: British Actress, THE MUMMY (1999)
Danny Huston: American Director, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
Bill Nighy: British actor, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, UNDERWORLD
Daniele Harford: Actor, THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Hubert Kounde: Actor/"Cafe Au Lait"
Pete Postlethwaite:
Nick Reding: Actor
Anneke Kim Sarnau: Actor, THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Donald Apiyo: Actor, CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Director
Fernando Meirelles: Screenwriter/Director, CITY OF GOD (2003)
Producer
Simon Channing Williams: Producer, THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Screenwriter
Jeffrey Caine:
Composer
Alberto Iglesias: Composer, TAKE MY EYES (2006)
Director of Photography
César Charlone: Director of Photography, CITY OF GOD (2003)
Executive Producer
Donald K. Ranvaud: Producer, MADAME SATA (2003)
Executive Producer
Gail Egan: Executive Producer, CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Executive Producer
Jeff Abberley: Executive Producer, CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Executive Producer
Julia Blackman: Executive Producer, CONSTANT GARDENER (2005)
Executive Producer
Robert Jones: Producer
Source Writer
John Le Carré: Author, TAILOR OF PANAMA (2001)
Executive Producer
Tracey Seaward: Producer, THE GOOD THEIF (2003)
Review 1:
"THE CONSTANT GARDENER, a thriller with something on its mind, confirms the talents of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles..."
Source: Movieline's Hollywood Life
p.99-100 07/01/2005
Review 2:
"[T]he ever-extraordinary Fiennes is the most quietly outstanding of the lot, miraculously showing us how his character literally ages with grief."
Source: Premiere
p.55 09/01/2005
Review 3:
"[Meirelles] brightens the author's wide, dark field with rich color....The movie is smart, serious, and adult about something that matters..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.58 09/02/2005
Review 4:
"Meirelles emerges with one of the year's best and most provocative movies. Long after it's over, you still feel its sting."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.112 08/25/2005
Review 5:
"[U]nusually satisfying....Mr. Meirelle's film actually bothers to say something about global politics....This is a supremely well-executed piece of popular entertainment that is likely to linger in your mind and may even trouble your conscience."
Source: New York Times
p.E1-E7 08/31/2005
Review 6:
"THE CONSTANT GARDENER is a masterwork of suspense, romance and political intrigue. It is a taut and gripping thriller that dazzles the eyes and engages the brain in a way that few recent films have come close to approaching."
Source: USA Today
p.6E 07/08/2005
Review 7:
"THE CONSTANT GARDENER is as much an incisive post-mortem of a relationship as it is a politically charged procedural."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.50-51 10/01/2005
Review 8:
Ranked #17 in Uncut's Best Films Of 2005 -- "[T]his is an engrossing, intelligent film."
Source: Uncut
p.82-83 01/01/2006
Review 9:
"Movies that try to juggle a message of political or social significance with a love story often can't manage either, so the makers of this thriller deserve extra plaudits for their tender and intelligent handling of both."
Source: Premiere
p.111 03/01/2006