MOVIE | Desplechin's Latest, 'Jimmy P. (Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian)'
A Human Drama About the Spiritual Connection Between a Native American Man and a Wandering Psychoanalyst
Arnaud Desplechin's Latest, 'Jimmy and Georges: Searching for Pieces of the Heart'
Arnaud Desplechin's "Jimmy and Georges: Searching for Pieces of the Heart" depicts the spiritual connection between a Native American man bearing emotional scars and a wandering psychoanalyst. It will begin its nationwide theatrical release on Saturday, January 10th, at Theatre Image Forum and other venues.
Text by YANAKA Tomomi
A True Story of Friendship Between Two Men
"Jimmy and Georges: Searching for Pieces of the Heart," Arnaud Desplechin's fifth film to be selected for the competition at the Cannes Film Festival, has arrived in Japan.
Based on Georges Devereux's "Psychanaalysis of Dreams," a work Desplechin had long considered adapting, the film portrays the fraternal bond between two men, rooted in a true story.
The critically acclaimed Benicio del Toro, an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor and a Cannes Best Actor laureate, delivers a powerful performance as the wounded man. He is joined by Mathieu Amalric, a frequent collaborator with Desplechin and a distinctive actor in his own right, who masterfully embodies the psychoanalyst.
Georges Explores the Darkness Within Jimmy
Jimmy, a Native American living in Montana, is plagued by various unexplained symptoms after returning from World War II and is admitted to a military hospital in Kansas. There, he meets Georges, a French psychoanalyst and anthropologist.
Their conversations begin, the two men—Georges, a maverick doctor with an unconventional background that includes fieldwork among the Mojave people, and Jimmy. As Georges listens daily to Jimmy's life story, he realizes that his symptoms, initially thought to be post-war trauma, are more profoundly influenced by childhood experiences and relationships with women.
Thus, he begins to touch upon the darkness residing within Jimmy's heart. This dialogue gradually evolves into a form of therapy that also touches upon 'something' within his own psyche.
Desplechin, hailed as "the next Truffaut" upon his 1991 debut "La Vie des morts" and now a towering figure in French cinema, tackles his first film with English dialogue and shot on location in America. The story of the "miracle" born from the encounter and friendship of these two men marks a new frontier for the master filmmaker.
"Jimmy and Georges: Searching for Pieces of the Heart"
Nationwide release begins Saturday, January 10, 2015, at Theatre Image Forum and other venues.
Directed and Screenplay by Arnaud Desplechin
Starring Benicio del Toro, Mathieu Amalric, Gina McKee
Distribution Copiapoa Film
2013 / France / 117 minutes
http://kokoronokakera.com/
©2013 Why Not Productions-France 2 Cinema-Orange Studio