THE EDGE OF THE BLADE
Une affaire d’honneur
North American Premiere | France | 2023 | Drama, Action | 101 min | In French with English subtitles
Directed by: Vincent Perez
Written by: Vincent Perez, Karine Silla
Produced by: Sidonie Dumas (Gaumont Production), France 2 Cinéma
Cinematography: Lucie Baudinot
Film Editing: Sylvie Lager
Original Score: Evgueni & Sacha Galperine
Cast: Roschdy Zem (Clément), Doria Tillier (Marie-Rose), Vincent Perez (Colonel Berchère), Guillaume Gallienne, Damien Bonnard, Noham Edge, Myriem Akheddiou, Eva Danino
International Sales: Gaumont
Veteran actor Vincent Perez‘s fourth feature directorial effort takes us back to 1887 Paris, when illegal duals were common practice as the only means of defending one’s honor. Albeit, only the honor of men. The period drama follows the ongoing blood feud that slowly develops between fencing master Clément Lacaze (the always riveting Roschdy Zem), desperate to dissuade his nephew from engaging in an unevenly matched duel, and the young man’s opponent, Colonel Berchère (brought to life by Perez, himself). Until Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre, a feisty feminist thinker far ahead of her times, enters the picture and does her darnedest to illustrate that honor is not exclusively the domain of men.
A native of Switzerland, the multi-talented Vincent Perez has had a very diverse career. After studying acting in Geneva and Nanterre, his breakthrough role was costarring with Gérard Depardieu in Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), for which he was nominated for a César Award, as he was for his performances in Philippe de Broca’s On Guard (COLCOA 1998) and in Patrice Chéreau’s Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (COLCOA 1999). He has appeared in over 80 films, and his photographs have been exhibited in galleries and festivals worldwide. He moved into the director’s chair in 1992, and his first two shorts, L’Échange (1992) and Rien à dire (1999) both opened in Cannes. He directed an episode of the TV series Scénarios sur la drogue in 2000 and three features: Peau d’ange (2002), Si j’étais toi (2007), and Alone in Berlin (2016). The Edge of the Blade premiered simultaneously at Munich and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals on June 30, winning the Audience Award in Karlovy Vary. It’s scheduled for released in France on December 27.
