X
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Strand Releasing
  • 1 h 52 m
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Strand Releasing
  • 1 h 52 m

Summary Paris, summer 1984. Manu arrives in Paris, where he shares a cheap hotel room with his sister Julie. He strikes up a joyous, chaste friendship with Adrien, a wealthy doctor in his early fifties who opens Manu’s eyes to a different way of life. On a trip out on a speedboat, Adrien introduces Manu to Sarah and Mehdi, a young couple who ha...

Directed By: André Téchiné

Written By: Laurent Guyot, Viviane Zingg, Michel Canesi, Jamil Rahmani, André Téchiné

  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Strand Releasing
  • 1 h 52 m
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Strand Releasing
  • 1 h 52 m

The Witnesses

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews
75
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary Paris, summer 1984. Manu arrives in Paris, where he shares a cheap hotel room with his sister Julie. He strikes up a joyous, chaste friendship with Adrien, a wealthy doctor in his early fifties who opens Manu’s eyes to a different way of life. On a trip out on a speedboat, Adrien introduces Manu to Sarah and Mehdi, a young couple who ha...

Directed By: André Téchiné

Written By: Laurent Guyot, Viviane Zingg, Michel Canesi, Jamil Rahmani, André Téchiné

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews
75
93% Positive
14 Reviews
7% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews
75
93% Positive
14 Reviews
7% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
88
The Witnesses may be schematic, but it lets each character live and breathe. The film captures a time and place that seems very distant now.
By Michael Phillips FULL REVIEW
88
Techine's unwillingness to soften his characters reflects a rare honesty about human nature that's rarely seen in movies, particularly movies about fatal illnesses, and his film is an engaging and particularly French character study.
By Ken Fox FULL REVIEW
80
The Witnesses forms a magnificent trilogy with "Son Frère" (2003), Patrice Chéreau's devastating account of fraternal devotion in the face of death, and the amazing, acerbic "Before I Forget," a brooding and bitter tale of survival coming soon from Jacques Nolot, here lending an iconic cameo as the proprietor of Manu's hooker hotel.
FULL REVIEW
75
They should hand out a score card with every ticket to The Witnesses to help viewers keep track of who's sleeping with whom.
By V.A. Musetto FULL REVIEW
70
A timely reminder of AIDS; we've largely forgotten we're in the midst of a crisis. But the movie isn't all cautionary, or at all preachy.
FULL REVIEW
70
Excitingly convoluted.
By David Edelstein FULL REVIEW
50
A kind of film opera without music.
FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company UGC Distribution, SBS Films, France 2 Cinéma, Soficinéma 2, Soficinéma 3, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Sofica UGC 1, Canal+, TPS Star, La Région Île-de-France
Release Date Feb 1, 2008
Duration 1 h 52 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
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Awards

César Awards, France
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Mezipatra Queer Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Berlin International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

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