Coma (2022 film) explained
Coma |
Director: | Bertrand Bonello |
Producer: | - Justin Taurand
- Bertrand Bonello
- Felix de Givry
- Ugo Bienvenu
|
Screenplay: | |
Music: | Bertrand Bonello |
Cinematography: | Antoine Parouty |
Editing: | Gabrielle Stemmer |
Distributor: | New Story |
Runtime: | 80 minutes[1] |
Country: | France[2] |
Language: | French |
Budget: | €250,000[3] |
Coma is a 2022 French film written and directed by Bertrand Bonello. Combining animation and live action, it tells the story of a teenage girl who is locked in her house during a global health crisis and navigates between dreams and reality, until she starts following a disturbing and mysterious YouTuber named Patricia Coma. It stars Louise Labèque, Julia Faure, Gaspard Ulliel, Laetitia Casta, Vincent Lacoste, Louis Garrel and Anaïs Demoustier.[4] Coma was the last film Ulliel worked in before his death.
Coma made its world premiere on 12 February 2022 at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival,[1] where it competed in the Encounters section and won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film.[5] It was released in theaters in France by New Story on 16 November 2022.
Cast
Production
Development
On 24 December 2021, French website Chaos Reign reported that director Bertrand Bonello had just finished a surprise film titled "Coma" before shooting the film The Beast.[6] [7] The film was produced by Les Films du Bélier and My New Picture in co-production with Remembers Production.[1]
Bonello described Coma as the last installment of his trilogy on youth, which started with Nocturama (2016), and was followed by Zombi Child (2019). Bonello wrote the screenplay for Coma during France's January 2021 COVID-19 lockdown, shooting in his own house with a small crew and limited means.[8] Bonello also composed the film's score. The film was shot in twelve days.[9] Julia Faure filmed all of her scenes in only six days with a small crew of seven people and without a boom operator.[10] Coma mixes digital video, 2D and 3D animation,[11] and archival footage.[8] The film is dedicated to, and inspired by Bonello's then-18-year-old daughter, Anna.[12]
The origin of Coma was a short film that Bonello did during the first lockdown for Fondazione Prada,[12] Où en êtes-vous? (Numéro 2),[13] which became the prologue to Coma, the letter to his daughter.[14] Bonello said that a lecture by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze ("Beware of the dreams of others, because if you are caught in their dream, you are done for"), made him take the letter and the prologue one step further and to imagine a girl's psyche. It also inspired him to do exactly the opposite of what Deleuze says: "Let us be caught in the dream of the other and see what happens", Bonello said.[14]
In an interview conducted in July 2022, Bonello said he does not rule out giving a sequel to Coma.[11]
Casting
Coma was Bertrand Bonello's second collaboration with Gaspard Ulliel and Louis Garrel after the 2014 biopic Saint Laurent, and also his second collaboration with Louise Labèque after the 2019 film Zombi Child.[4]
Bonello wanted very recognizable voices for the dolls, so that they would quickly have an identity for the viewer.[11] He called on Laetitia Casta, Gaspard Ulliel, Anaïs Demoustier, Vincent Lacoste and Louis Garrel. "All five came to my house, I made coffee, in one morning everything was over. Beyond the very playful side of it all, I helped them to play everything with a first degree which allowed a very simple emotion in the scenes. And a comic effect", Bonello said.[11]
Gaspard Ulliel, who voiced the doll Scott, died following a skiing accident on 19 January 2022.[15] The same day as Ulliel's death, Coma was announced as one of the films selected for the Berlin Film Festival.[16] Ulliel's role in Coma was kept a secret until the film's official plot and full cast were revealed on 2 February 2022,[4] making it the first film released after his death - following its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on 12 February 2022, despite being the last one he filmed, as it was finished in December 2021,[6] [7] a month before his death.[15]
Ulliel had recently died when Bonello was editing the film. Bonello told Variety: "I was alone in a screening room, and Gaspard had just died, and when I heard his voice resonating in the room it was like a haunting. I thought about some lines from the letter to my daughter where I talk about those we've lost. The film is called 'Coma' and has scenes in a forest that connects the living and the dead. So watching it again felt uncanny. Gaspard resonated throughout."
Marketing
The first image featuring Louise Labèque, the full cast and plot details were revealed on 2 February 2022.[4] Two clips from the film titled "Catatonie" and "Cullen" were released on 10 February 2022.[17] The clip titled "Cullen" featured the voices of Gaspard Ulliel and Laetitia Casta as the dolls Scott and Sharon, respectively.[18]
Belgian sales company Best Friend Forever released a poster[19] and an exclusive 20-second teaser trailer for the film on their Instagram account on 11 February 2022.[20]
On 16 February 2022, Best Friend Forever released on their Instagram account a new 9-second clip featuring Louise Labèque playing an electronic device similar to Rubik's Cube.[21]
New Story released a new poster for the film on their official website in early October 2022.[22] The film's official trailer was released on New Story's social media on 14 October 2022.[23] [24]
Release
On 2 February 2022, it was reported that Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever had acquired the film.[25]
The film had its world premiere in the 'Encounters' section at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 12 February 2022. It made its North American premiere at the 60th New York Film Festival in the 'Currents' section on 1 October 2022,[26] and was screened at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival in the 'Dare' section on 5 October 2022.[27]
New Story released the film in theaters in France on 16 November 2022. The film will be released on DVD on 22 March 2023.[28]
Film Movement bought distribution rights for North America and will release the film in select theaters in the United States on 17 May 2024, and on their streaming platform on 10 September 2024.[29] [30]
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 80% based on 15 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.10/10.[31] Film Comment ranked the film number two on its list of "Best Undistributed Films of 2022".[32] The Film Stage also included Coma on its list of "The Best Undistributed Films of 2022".[33]
Fabien Lemercier of Cineuropa wrote; "It is an invisible, poetic, philosophico-chaotic map that Bertrand Bonello draws in Coma, an immersive experience of recentring of the self between life and death, a fragmentary essay about change, an indirect portrait of a young generation suffering, a cryptic dispatch of coded messages preparing for dawn at the heart of the cannibalistic night of the world", and "Those baffled by Coma, will no doubt get another chance in the future to rewatch what will inevitably become a cult film."[34]
Rafaela Sales Ross of The Playlist wrote; "In an oversaturated market for pandemic-themed films, "Coma" is a delirious marvel of a reminder that, in the right hands, there is no such thing as an unfeasible subject."[35]
Anna Smith of Deadline wrote; "Bonello calls this film a "little gesture," and in many ways it feels like an intimate story. But its wider resonance makes it a topical and quietly thought-provoking watch."[36]
Cédric Succivalli of International Cinephile Society wrote that "Coma is a neo-Lynchian slow burn masterpiece that will wow those willing to embark on its tumultuous journey with its mise en abymes and epiphanies of visual ecstasy. It's a near impossible patchwork film to grasp at first sight and will require multiple viewings undoubtedly, but it should obtain cult status over time. Coma's final ten minutes are already in my all-time pantheon of best finales ever, echoing the finale of Terrence Malick's Tree of Life ten years later with melancholy and despair."[37] Succivalli also praised Julia Faure's performance by saying; "what a treasure of an actress the underrated Julia Faure is in the cosmos of contemporary French cinema. She brings warmth, sensuousness and iconoclasm to an emotional rollercoaster of a story that needed her like champagne needs bubbles",[37] and the late Gaspard Ulliel as the doll Scott, "whose smooth voice cannot but break our hearts".[37]
Awards and nominations
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: 10 February 2022 . Berlinale Programme - Coma . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20220315195427/https://www.berlinale.de/en/programme/programme/detail.html?film_id=202210281 . 15 March 2022 . 8 October 2022 . Berlinale.de.
- Web site: Coma de Bertrand Bonello . 8 October 2022 . . Technical details > Production country: France / Production language: French.
- Web site: Lepesant . Victor . 14 November 2022 . Interview de Bertrand Bonello . Super Seven . French.
- Web site: Pearce . Leonard . 2 February 2022 . First Look and Plot Details for Bertrand Bonello's Coma, Premiering at Berlinale . The Film Stage . 12 February 2022 . 7 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220207142822/https://thefilmstage.com/first-look-and-plot-details-for-bertrand-bonellos-coma-premiering-at-berlinale/ . live .
- Web site: 17 February 2022 . Two Silver Bears for French cinema at the 72nd Berlinale . . 25 March 2022 . 23 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220523143753/https://en.unifrance.org/news/16260/two-silver-bears-for-french-cinema-at-the-72nd-berlinale . live .
- Web site: Roos . Gautier . 24 December 2021 . INFO CHAOS – Avant " La bête ", Bertrand Bonello a réalisé un film-surprise intitulé " Coma " . INFO CHAOS – Before "The Beast", Bertrand Bonello made a surprise film entitled "Coma" . live . https://archive.today/20220312181138/https://www.chaosreign.fr/exclu-chaos-avant-la-bete-bertrand-bonello-a-realise-le-film-coma/ . 12 March 2022 . 20 May 2022 . Chaos Reign . French.
- Web site: Roos . Gautier . 25 December 2021 . [INTERVIEW BERTRAND BONELLO] Le grand entretien chaos ]. [INTERVIEW BERTRAND BONELLO] The Great Chaos Interview . live . https://archive.today/20220520111804/https://www.chaosreign.fr/interview-bertrand-bonello-coma-nocturama-la-bete-grand-entretien-fleuve-de-hiver-2021/2/ . 20 May 2022 . 20 May 2022 . Chaos Reign . French.
- Web site: Croll . Ben . February 13, 2022 . 'Coma' Helmer Bonello Vows to Go on With 'Beast' Despite Ulliel Death . . 17 February 2022 . 27 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220827050052/https://variety.com/2022/film/news/coma-bonello-ulliel-1235180293/ . live .
- Web site: 9 February 2022 . Coma Berlinale Meets... Bertrand Bonello Berlinale 2022 . . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026142231/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbTa9IPF83El . live .
- Web site: Cheze . Thierry . 16 November 2022 . Julia Faure : "Sur Coma, j'ai eu le sentiment de vivre le luxe absolu, comme comédienne" . Julia Faure: "On Coma, I had the feeling of experiencing absolute luxury, as an actress" . . French . 23 November 2022 . 23 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221123014311/https://www.premiere.fr/Cinema/News-Cinema/Julia-Faure-Sur-Coma-j-ai-eu-le-sentiment-de-vivre-le-luxe-absolu-comme-comedienne . live .
- Web site: Coma Dossier de Presse . Coma French Press Kit . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529000729/https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/5/232/256005/presse/coma-dossier-de-presse-francais.pdf . 29 May 2023 . 14 May 2024 . . fr.
- Web site: Katz . David . 15 February 2022 . Bertrand Bonello • Director of Coma . . 17 February 2022 . 22 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220622233815/https://www.cineuropa.org/en/interview/421990/ . live .
- Web site: Finite Rants . 31 August 2022 . . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830011730/https://www.fondazioneprada.org/project/finiterants/?lang=en . live .
- Web site: Coma - Berlin Press Kit . 26 October 2022 . Best Friend Forever . 4 . 25 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220925233222/https://www.bestfriendforever.be/assets/download/bff-coma-presskit-vdef.pdf . dead.
- News: Vaux-Montagny . Nicolas . 20 January 2022 . Gaspard Ulliel, French actor slated to appear in 'Moon Knight,' dies at 37 . . 3 June 2022 . 20 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220120204354/https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/01/20/gaspard-ulliel-dead/ . live .
- Web site: Bałaga . Marta . 19 January 2022 . The Berlinale announces its competition titles: "Never before have we welcomed so many love stories" . Cineuropa.
- Web site: February 10, 2022 . Coma new clip official "Catatonie" from Berlin Film Festival 2022 - 1/2 . live . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/kJfZZzMV1PU . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . YouTube.
- Web site: 10 February 2022 . Coma new clip official "Cullen" from Berlin Film Festival 2022 - 2/2 . live . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/0TIMfERiC1Q . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . YouTube.
- Web site: Best Friend Forever . 11 February 2022 . Bertrand Bonello's new film COMA! World premiere this week-end in Berlinale Encounters . live . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/bestfriendforeversales/2771498922041820070 . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . Instagram.
- Web site: Best Friend Forever . 11 February 2022 . Check out the exclusive teaser for Bertrand Bonello's new film COMA! World premiere this week-end in Berlinale Encounters . live . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/bestfriendforeversales/2771146468292173880 . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . Instagram.
- Web site: Best Friend Forever . 16 February 2022 . "Beware of other's dreaming. Never get caught in another's dream" - Gilles Deleuze. COMA by Bertrand Bonello World-Premiere in Berlinale Encounters . . 17 February 2022 . 15 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230715162739/https://www.instagram.com/p/CaCeZ4ho48b/ . live .
- Web site: Coma . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221008055241/https://www.new-story.eu/films/coma/ . 8 October 2022 . 8 October 2022 . New Story . fr.
- Web site: 14 October 2022 . Le 16 Novembre au cinéma, découvrez COMA, le nouveau film de Bertrand Bonello ! Un film qui vous apprendra à mieux vivre. . live . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/newstoryfilms/2949013287404132295 . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . . fr.
- Web site: 19 October 2022 . First International Trailer for Bertrand Bonello's Coma Captures a Solitary Life . The Film Stage . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026142231/https://thefilmstage.com/first-international-trailer-for-bertrand-bonellos-coma-captures-a-solitary-life/ . live .
- Web site: Keslassy . Elsa . 2 February 2022 . Bertrand Bonello's Berlinale Film 'Coma' Acquired by Best Friend Forever (EXCLUSIVE) . . 12 February 2022 . 12 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220212190652/https://variety.com/2022/film/news/bertrand-bonello-coma-berlin-film-festival-1235169647/ . live .
- Web site: Coma . 6 September 2022 . . 6 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906212635/https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2022/films/coma/ . live .
- Web site: Buy tickets for Coma BFI London Film Festival 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220911050913/https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/LFF/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=coma . dead . 11 September 2022 . . 11 September 2022.
- Web site: Coma DVD - Bertrand Bonello . 8 January 2023 . FNAC.com.
- Web site: Keslassy . Elsa . 5 January 2024 . Bertrand Bonello’s Berlinale Prizewinner 'Coma' Secures North American Distribution (EXCLUSIVE) . . 14 May 2024 . 9 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240509202209/https://variety.com/2024/film/global/bertrand-bonello-coma-north-american-distribution-1235862562/ . live .
- Web site: Theatrical : Coma . 14 May 2024 . . 10 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240510155614/https://www.filmmovement.com/coma . live .
- Web site: Coma . 14 May 2024 . . 10 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240510233815/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coma_2022 . live .
- Web site: 14 December 2022 . Best Undistributed Films of 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221217112401/https://www.filmcomment.com/best-undistributed-films-of-2022/ . 17 December 2022 . 17 December 2022 . Film Comment.
- Web site: 2 January 2023 . The Best Undistributed Films of 2022 . The Film Stage . 8 January 2023 . 8 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230108192810/https://thefilmstage.com/the-best-undistributed-films-of-2022/ . live .
- Web site: Lemercier . Fabien . 12 February 2022 . Review: Coma . . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026142231/https://www.cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/421732/ . live .
- Web site: Sales Ross . Rafaela . 13 February 2022 . 'Coma': Bertrand Bonello's Latest Is An Unforgiving, Nightmarish Blast [Berlin Film Festival] ]. The Playlist . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026142239/https://theplaylist.net/coma-bertrand-bonellos-latest-is-an-unforgiving-nightmarish-blast-berlin-film-festival-20220213/ . live .
- Web site: Smith . Anna . 12 February 2022 . Berlin Review: Bertrand Bonello's 'Coma,' Featuring Gaspard Ulliel . . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026142229/https://deadline.com/2022/02/coma-review-bertrand-bonello-gaspard-ulliel-berlin-film-festival-1234932354/ . live .
- Web site: Succivalli . Cédric . 13 February 2022 . Berlinale 2022 review: Coma (Bertrand Bonello) . . 26 October 2022 . 26 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221026142230/https://icsfilm.org/festivals/berlin/berlinale-2022-review-coma-bertrand-bonello/ . live .
- Web site: Tina Jøhnk . Christensen . 15 April 2022 . Istanbul Film Festival Kicks off with "Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush" . . 20 May 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830015609/https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/istanbul-film-festival-kicks-rabiye-kurnaz-vs-george-w-bush . live .
- Web site: Rivera . Alfonso . 21 April 2022 . 95 films to be screened at the 21st Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Festival . . 3 June 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830015612/https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/424435/ . live .
- Web site: The 21FICLPGC's Official Feature Film Section starts tomorrow . Festival Internacional de Cine Las Palmas de Gran Canaria . 24 April 2022 . 8 June 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830015618/https://www.lpafilmfestival.com/en/arranca-la-competicion-en-la-seccion-oficial-de-largometrajes-del-21ficlpgc/ . live .
- Web site: Longtake Interactive Film Festival 2022 . Longtake.it . Italian . 9 December 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830020908/https://www.longtake.it/events/longtake-interactive-film-festival-2022 . live .
- Web site: LIFF 2022: tutti i vincitori . Longtake.it . 5 December 2022 . Italian . 9 December 2022 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830021414/https://www.longtake.it/news/liff-2022-tutti-i-vincitori . live .
- Web site: Stevens . Beth . 12 February 2023 . 2023 ICS Award Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231201001810/https://icsfilm.org/our-yearly-awards/2023-ics-award-winners/ . 1 December 2023 . 14 May 2024 . International Cinephile Society.