It’s been quite some time since a film by the great Arnaud Desplechin has received a U.S. theatrical run, and thankfully that changes this May when Kino Lorber releases Two Pianos. Starring François Civil, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, and Charlotte Rampling, the TIFF and Rendez-Vous with French Cinema selection will arrive in theaters May 1 and now the new trailer and poster have arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “Pianist Mathias (François Civil) returns home to Lyon after years away teaching and performing in Japan. He’s been summoned back to duet with his former teacher Elena (Charlotte Rampling) during her final concerts—a re-encounter with a demanding mentor that proves less daunting than Mathias’s experience of running into a charismatic but erratic ex, Claude (Nadia Tereszkiewicz). One of France’s biggest rising stars, Civil (who studied rigorously to perform Bach on-screen himself) is a worthy partner for the legendary, typically commanding Rampling. Psychologically charged homecomings and the unexpected reunions they can bring about—romantically charged and otherwise—are a recurring through line in the films of Arnaud Desplechin, thematic fodder that he revisits in typically boisterous form against the backdrop of a city he’s never filmed before.”
C.J. Prince said in his TIFF review, “The past rears its not-so-ugly head in Two Pianos, Arnaud Desplechin’s latest film exploring the ways gorgeous people make an even bigger mess out of the messiness of life itself. Set amidst the world of classical music in Lyon, this tale of a tortured pianist’s reunion with his also-tortured first love contains the literary and melodramatic elements one normally expects from Desplechin, who––having not received a theatrical release since 2017’s Ismael’s Ghosts––has unfortunately fallen out of favor in the U.S. Fortunately that’s not the case in his home country, where he’s maintained a prolific output that continues attracting some of France’s top actors. With Two Pianos he’s put together a rich, thoughtful look at how we can shape our lives around our biggest regrets.”
See the trailer and poster below.
