The Luzhin Defence (2000)

Réalisateur:

Marleen Gorris

Scénaristes:

Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
Peter Berry (screenplay)

Date de sortie:

8 septembre 2000 (UK)

Genre:

Drame | Romance

Accroche:

His love dictates every move.

Intrigue:

Two worlds collide when an eccentric genius falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty.

Plot Keywords:

Chess | Genius | Lake | 1920s | Obsession

Récompenses:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

A quiet (not your ordinary) love story with beautiful film score by Alexandre Desplat

Ensemble

John Turturro	...	Aleksandr Ivanovich 'Sascha' Luzhin
Emily Watson	...	Natalia Katkov
Geraldine James	...	Vera, Natalia's Mother
Stuart Wilson	...	Leo Valentinov
Christopher Thompson	...	Jean de Stassard
Fabio Sartor	...	Dottore Salvatore Turati
Peter Blythe	...	Ilya
Orla Brady	...	Aunt Anna
Mark Tandy	...	Luzhin's Father
Kelly Hunter	...	Luzhin's Mother
Alexander Hunting	...	Young Aleksandr Luzhin
Alfredo Pea	...	1st Official
Fabio Pasquini	...	2nd Official
Luigi Petrucci	...	Santucci
Carlo Greco	...	Hotel Manager

Autre(s) titre(s):

La défense Loujine (France)
The Luzhin Defense (USA) (cable TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and thematic elements.

Durée:

109 min

Pays:

UK | France

Langue:

Anglais | Italien

Couleur:

Couleur (Technicolor)

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

Dolby Digital

Classification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Lieux de tournage:

Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy

Société:

C.R.G. International

Goofs:

Erreurs factuelles: In his game as white against an unnamed opponent before the final, Luzhin is shown supposedly checkmating with Rd1-d8, which is an illegal move because his rook at d1 is pinned against his king on h1 by black's rook at c1.

Guillemet:

Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin: As Pushkin's doomed duelist said, "Let's start if you're willing."

Bande son:

Waltz 2

A quiet (not your ordinary) love story with beautiful film score by Alexandre Desplat

Walking home after the film, I was humming the familiar waltz music that Natalia and Alexandre were dancing to. I've heard that before - where? Ah, from Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" (track 2), 'got it just as I arrived at the door. It's "Waltz No. 2 from Jazz Suite No. 2" composed by Dimitri Shostakovich, performed here by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Yes, I went and picked up the soundtrack from Tower's. What a treat! The film score by Alexandre Desplat was fulfilling - there are fifteen tracks besides two tracks of the delightful waltz. It's not often these days we get a soundtrack entirely dedicated to a comprehensive film score. Reminds me of favorite scores by Maurice Jarre, Ennio Morricone (beginning notes of track 6 have traces of "Nuovo cinema Paradiso"), Georges Delerue, and John Barry. There are subtle nuances of strains and notes from the strings, celeste, piano, and harp.

Emily Watson and John Turturro delivered a credibly consuming paired performance. The love story, their intimate connection, is very much between Alexandre and Natalia - his childlike yet tormenting inner world, and her generous and bold understanding of him - a relationship alone to them both. Director Marleen Gorris of "Antonia's Line" (1996 Academy Award's Best Foreign Language Film from the Netherlands) gave us a quietly sensitive film - not without its unsettling human conflicts, intrigues, obsessions, family strives, lovingness and respect. The front-end subject is the mind-game and mathematical logic of chess. Beneath it can be a mild tearjerker of a drama set in the late 1920's. Cinematography captures the serene beauty of Lake Como in northern Italy near the Swiss border.

I highly recommend the soundtrack if you don't feel like going to the movies. Alexandre Desplat's lyrical film score of "The Luzhin Defence" is complete.