It's cynical business as usual for Claude Chabrol, who offers plentiful style and psychological finesse... in his latest jaundiced and sophisticated entertainment. The story of a young woman caught between two rivalrous and highly unsuitable admirers, A Girl Cut In Two has the typical trappings of a Chabrol thriller, although it would be more accurate to call this a melodrama of manners with a dark streak of social satire... The eponymous heroine, played by Ludivine Sagnier, is Camille Deneige--her surname suggesting that she's pure as the driven snow, though she's anything but. Camille is an independent, ambitious TV weather girl who finds herself courted by two men whose rivalrous antipathy goes way back. One is Charles Saint-Denis (François Berleand), an elderly, highly successful novelist whose marriage to artist wife Genevieve (Caroline Sihol)--whom he terms a "saint"--allows him time and space to dabble in more sinnerly pursuits... Running into Camille at a TV studio, Charles pursues her, and the young woman finds herself falling head over heels in love with this greying literary lion... But it's not long before he dumps her, leaving the way clear for her other admirer to make his move. He is infantile, spoiled and somewhat deranged Paul Gaudens (Benoît Magimel), playboy son of a pharmaceutical tycoon..."--Screen Daily

""A sardonic tale of duality filtered through class differences... With language and mannerisms that are laugh-out-loud funny, [Claude Chabrol's] Lyons-set story of a local TV weather girl who is simultaneously pursued by two very different men eviscerates the non-charm of the bourgeoisie."--Variety

The VIFF gratefully acknowledges the support of the Consulate General for France in Vancouver for their help in presenting the Spotlight on France series and for their invaluable assistance in facilitating the participation of French filmmakers at the Festival.

To purchase tickets by phone, call the VISA Charge-by-Phone line at 1-604-685-8297.
For questions about the VIFF, please call the Starbucks Hotline at 604-683-FILM (3456)