Kino Lorber Acquires North American Rights to Arnaud Desplechin’s 'Two Pianos'
“A rhapsodic piece about love, death, music and memory.”
– Jonathan Romney, Screen International
“An elegant mélange. Its tête-à-têtes give way to full-throated melodrama, the narrative punctuated by haunting Hitchcockian flashes, complete with Bernard Herrmann-esque swells of yearning melody in Grégoire Hetzel’s stellar score….Desplechin and his superb cast convincingly bring the angsty emotions to a place of unexpected brightness and clarity.”
– Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
“An ideal example of what a prestige film should be…Charlotte Rampling delivers her
best performance in years.”
– C.J. Prince, The Film Stage
Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Arnaud Desplechin’s stirring melodrama Two Pianos, starring François Civil (Beating Hearts), Nadia Tereszkiewicz (The Crime is Mine), and Charlotte Rampling. The film made its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and will make its U.S. Premiere at Rendez-Vous with French Cinema on March 5, with Desplechin in attendance. Two Pianos will be released theatrically by Kino Lorber this spring followed by a digital, educational, and home video release.
After years of self-imposed exile, Mathias Vogler (François Civil) returns to France, where his former mentor, Eléna (Charlotte Rampling), has invited him to perform a series of piano concerts with her at the Auditorium de Lyon. Once a gifted concert pianist and Eléna’s star pupil, Mathias has not performed publicly in years, squandering his childhood promise and returning to Lyon only at her request. But soon after his arrival, a chance encounter with a child who looks just like him throws Mathias into turmoil, threatening to drag him down, and leads him back to Claude (Nadia Tereszkiewicz): his first love.
The deal for Two Pianos was negotiated by Kino Lorber VP of Acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer and Eva Diederix of Goodfellas.
“I am deeply grateful to Kino Lorber for bringing Two Pianos to American audiences,” said director Arnaud Desplechin. “I’ve been dreaming for so many years of filming an impossible love story. Here I am! Two Pianos is an intimate story of regrets, music, and homecoming. Sure, life can be tough! And we can cope with that. But music is our best solace. The United States has always been a place where cinema is passionately embraced, and I am very moved to share this film with the US audience.”
"We are thrilled to partner with the great director Arnaud Depleschin to bring Two Pianos to American audiences," said Dwyer. "Fueled by the music of Chopin, Bartok, Bruch, and a swelling score by Grégoire Hetzel, Two Pianos is a sensual, impressively directed romantic drama set in the world of classical music, with striking performances by François Civil, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, and Charlotte Rampling and brought to life by acclaimed cinematographer Paul Guilhaume."
“Two Pianos is a beautifully crafted and deeply moving film, and we’re thrilled that Kino Lorber will bring Arnaud Desplechin’s work to U.S. audiences,” added Diederix.
Two Pianos is produced by Pascal Caucheteux of Why Not Productions and is co-produced by Arte France Cinéma, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, and Alaz Film. The film is written by Arnaud Desplechin and Kamen Velkovsky and stars François Civil, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Charlotte Rampling, Hippolyte Girardot, Valentin Picard, Jeremy Lewin, Anne Kessler, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, and Marianne Pommier.