With THE TOWN IS QUIET, French writer-director Robert Guediguian (MARIUS AND JEANNETTE) brings the bustling, culturally diverse landscape of modern Marseilles to startling life. Opening with an extended pan of the Mediterranean city, Guediguian ingeniously prepares the viewer for the sprawling tale that is about to unfold. Gradually, a revolving cast of characters is introduced, including: Michele (Ariane Ascaride), a struggling fish monger who cares for her heroin-addicted daughter, Fiona (Julie-Marie Parmentier); Paul (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), a former dock worker who has turned to driving a taxi; Abderramane (Alexandre Ogou) and Viviane (Christine Brucher), two apparent opposites who form an unlikely relationship; and Gerard (Gerard Meylan), a quiet bar owner with a mysterious connection to Michele. By the time the film builds to its somber, tragic conclusion, each individual is forced to confront his or her current situation, sparking a series of epiphanies that no one will ever forget.

Guediguian's film is the work of a truly gifted storyteller. Juggling at least four major plotlines, he brings his characters together naturally, without ever forcing it. Ascaride, Darroussin, and Meylan are standouts in the superb cast, actors who don't need to speak to convey the hidden sadness that lies just beneath the surface.

This film was screened as part of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2001 festival organized by The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City.

Original Production Year: 2000.

IN THEATRES: OCTOBER 26, 2001 (NY)

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen
Single Side - Dual Layer
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Features:
Scene Access

Ariane Ascaride: Actress
Jean-Pierre Darroussin: French Actor, CA IRA MIEUX DEMAIN (2000)
Gerard Meylan: Actor
Alexandre Ogou: French Actor, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)
Pierre Banderet: French Actor, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)
Julie-Marie Parmentier: Actress, MURDEROUS MAIDS (2000)
Christine Brucher: French Actress, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)
Jacques Boudet: Actor, LE CONTE DU VENTRE PLEIN (2000)
Pascale Roberts: Actor
Veronique Balme: French actress

Robert Guediguian: Director

Robert Guediguian: Director
Gilles Sandoz: Producer, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)
Michel Saint-Jean: Producer, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)

Robert Guediguian: Director
Jean-Louis Milesi: Screenwriter, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)

Jacques Menichetti: Composer, LA VILLE EST TRANQUILLE (2000)

"...All the actors create distinctive characterizations....Guediguian's latest is an absorbing, panoramic view of characters and their city in continual conflict..."
"...Guediguian's light, mobile camerawork and extensive location shooting expand Marseillais visual idiom, offering an imaginative cross between the warm theatricality of the [19]30s Pagnol films and British-style social realism..."
"...Raw, wrenching....THE TOWN IS QUIET maintains an intensely realistic urban ambience..."
"...Intimate and human yet deeply ambitious, a powerhouse of a film made with a disturbing vision..."