The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea | |
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Directed by | Laurent Heynemann |
Written by |
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Based on | La vieille qui marchait dans la mer by Frederic Dard |
Produced by | Gérard Jourd'hui |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Robert Alazraki |
Music by | Philippe Sarde |
Production company | Blue Dahlia Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea (French: La vieille qui marchait dans la mer) is a 1991 French crime comedy-drama film directed by Laurent Heynemann and based on the novel by San Antonio ( Frédéric Dard.) Jeanne Moreau won the 1992 César Award for Best Actress for her performance.
The film was not commercially successful in France, selling only 526,018 tickets. [1]
It received mixed reviews from critics. The New York Times called the film "cheerfully depraved", and said Moreau's performance "is a classic star turn that lends an essentially frivolous movie a surprising soulfulness." [2] Empire said "Moreau sparkles as the domineering, violent but ironically godly Lady M: by turns becoming beautiful, tragically little-girl-lost, and almost frightening. Serrault is in equally fine fettle, as a kind of devious old innocent" but their verbal sparring "soon becomes really a tad tiresome." [3] TV Guide called it "an entertaining character study that leans too heavily on Moreau's physical ruin but compensates with the sharp -- but seldom bitter -- dialogue." [4] Time Out remarked that "Heynemann's mainstream comedy has surprisingly dark undercurrents - it's a caper movie which dares to ebb from time to time." [5]