Valiant Hearts
Theatrical release poster
FrenchCœurs vaillants
Directed byMona Achache
Written by
Produced byJean Cottin[1]
StarringCamille Cottin
CinematographyIsarr Eiriksson[1]
Edited byBeatrice Herminie[1]
Music byBenoit Rault[1]
Production
companies
  • Les Films du Cap[1]
  • Orson Films[1]
  • Scope Pictures[1]
Distributed byBAC Films[1]
Release dates
  • 1 October 2021 (2021-10-01) (War On Screen)[2]
  • 11 May 2022 (2022-05-11) (France)[3]
Running time
85 minutes[1]
Countries
LanguageFrench[1]
Budget€3,7 million[4][5]

Valiant Hearts (French: Cœurs vaillants) is a 2021 World War II drama film written and directed by Mona Achache from a screenplay she co-wrote with Christophe Offenstein, Jean Cottin, Anne Berest, and Valérie Zenatti, starring Camille Cottin.[6] The film is a co-production between France and Belgium and it is based on the real-life story of Achache's grandmother, Suzanne Achache–Wiznitzer, who was a Jewish child placed in foster care during World War II to escape the Holocaust. The film made its world premiere at the War On Screen Film Festival on 1 October 2021. It was released theatrically in France by BAC Films on 11 May 2022.

Plot

In 1942 during World War II, six Jewish children are hidden by the French Resistance in the Chambord Castle to escape the Holocaust.

Cast

  • Camille Cottin as Rose
  • Maé Roudet Rubens as Hannah
  • Léo Riehl as Jacques
  • Ferdinand Redouloux as Josef
  • Lila-Rose Gilberti as Clara
  • Asia Suissa-Fuller as Henriette
  • Luka Haggège as Léon
  • Félix Nicolas as Paul
  • Swann Arlaud as the curator
  • Anne-Lise Heimburger as German officer
  • Patrick d'Assumçao as the priest
  • Franck Beckmann as the gamekeeper

Production

Development

The film is based on the real-life story of director Mona Achache's paternal grandmother, Suzanne Achache–Wiznitzer,[7] who was a Jewish child placed in foster care during World War II to escape the Holocaust.[8][9][10]

The original title, Cœurs vaillants, refers to the French Catholic magazine for children that the hidden children discover in the film.[9]

The character Rose, portrayed by Camille Cottin, was inspired by Rose Valand, a conservator at Paris's Jeu de Paume Museum and a member of the French Resistance who spied and documented artworks stolen by Nazi officers.[11]

The film is a co-production between France's Les Films du Cap and Orson Films, and Belgium's Scope Pictures[11][3] It was pre-purchased by the French pay-per-view television channels Canal+ and Ciné+ in 2020.[11] Bac Films purchased the film for theatrical release in France.[11] International sales were handled by Other Angle Pictures.[11]

Filming

Filming was postponed by a few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] Principal photography began on 29 July 2020 and wrapped on 15 September 2020.[11] Filming took place in the commune of Chambord, Loir-et-Cher in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France,[13] and at the Chambord Castle.[14] The shooting followed a strict COVID-19 safety protocol monitored by a COVID reference nurse, and everyone except the actors were using masks on set.[13] The regulations required the children 26 days of filming for them to complete their back-to-school week, so the crew took a week's break.[12]

After shooting at the Chambord Castle for 9 days, the cast and crew then moved to a forest near the Butte de Vienne where filming took place for 18 days.[12] The film's production built a cabin in the forest that should be preserved by Chambord.[12]

Soundtrack

On 2 May 2022, Cocotte & Les Films du Cap released the album with the film's official soundtrack composed by Benoit Rault for HiTnRuN.[15]

Cœurs Vaillants un film de Mona Achache (Bande originale du film)
Soundtrack album by
Benoit Rault for HiTnRuN
Released2 May 2022
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length26:08
LabelCocotte & Les Films du Cap

Track listing

All tracks are written by Benoit Rault.

Cœurs Vaillants un film de Mona Achache (Bande originale du film)
No.TitleLength
1."Les passagers"03:44
2."La traversée"03:30
3."A Suzanne"02:18
4."Grande"00:40
5."La fuite de Clara"03:01
6."Immensité"03:12
7."Héros toujours"02:52
8."La cabane"02:01
9."Illuminé"02:24
10."Un totem à Juneau"01:42
11."Les passagers 2"02:44
Total length:26:08

Release

The film made its world premiere at the War On Screen Film Festival in Mourmelon-le-Grand, France on 1 October 2021.[2] It was released theatrically in France by BAC Films on 11 May 2022.[3]

Reception

Critical response

AlloCiné, a French cinema site, gave the film an average rating of 2.7/5, based on a survey of 9 French reviews.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Valiant Hearts de Mona Achache (2021)". Unifrance. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Roussel, Mathieu (28 September 2021). "Une projection de cinéma en avant-première à Mourmelon dans le cadre de War On Screen". Journal L'Union (in French). Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Vaillant Hearts". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Cœurs vaillants | Valiant Hearts (Titre international)". Crew United. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Dispatch MG Chart Cannes by ecrantotal". Infogram. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Bommelaer, Claire (10 May 2022). "Notre critique de Cœurs vaillants: la guerre à hauteur d'enfance". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Marillenknödel, a recipe by Mamé, a film by Mona Achache". Grandmas Project. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "L'invité - Mona Achache". TV5Monde (in French). 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  9. 1 2 Tremblay, Odile (20 May 2022). ""Coeurs vaillants", les enfants cachés sous l'Occupation". Le Devoir (in French).
  10. ↑ "Cinéma : "Cœurs vaillants", un film de Mona Achache, au cinéma le 11 mai". France Télévisions (in French). 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lemercier, Fabien (14 August 2020). "Mona Achache is shooting Cœurs vaillants". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Clap de fin à Chambord pour le film "Coeurs vaillants"". La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest (in French). 21 September 2020.
  13. 1 2 "VIDEO. A Chambord, le tournage du film "Coeurs vaillants" s'adapte à la crise sanitaire". La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest (in French). 1 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "Domaine national de Chambord | Rapport d'activités 2020" (PDF). Chambord Castle (in French). pp. 45, 51, 92. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "'Valiant Hearts' Soundtrack Released". Film Music Reporter. 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Critiques presse pour le film Cœurs vaillants". AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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