Bonjour Tristesse (2024 film)

Bonjour Tristesse
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Durga Chew-Bose
Screenplay by	Durga Chew-Bose
Based on	Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
Produced by	Christina Piovesan Noah Segal Benito Mueller Wolfgang Mueller Joe Iacono Julie Viez Durga Chew-Bose Katie Bird Nolan Lindsay Tapscott
Starring	Lily McInerny Claes Bang Nailia Harzoune Aliocha Schneider Chloë Sevigny
Cinematography	Maximilian Pittner
Edited by	Amélie Labrèche
Music by	Lesley Barber
Production companies	Babe Nation Films Elevation Pictures Barry Films Cinenovo Film Constellation MIPA Management
Distributed by	Elevation Pictures (Canada) Universal Pictures (select territories)
Release dates	September 5, 2024 (2024-09-05) (TIFF) May 2, 2025 (2025-05-02) (Canada)
Running time	110 minutes
Countries	Canada Germany
Languages	English French

Bonjour Tristesse is a 2024 coming-of-age romantic drama film written and directed by Durga Chew-Bose in her feature-length directorial debut, based on the 1954 novel by Françoise Sagan. It stars Lily McInerny, Claes Bang, Nailia Harzoune, Aliocha Schneider, and Chloë Sevigny.

The film premiered in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2024. It is set to be released theatrically in Canada on May 2, 2025, by Elevation Pictures.

Synopsis

Cécile and her widowed father Raymond are spending the summer in the south of France with his latest flame, Elsa. However, the equilibrium is disrupted with the arrival of Anne, an old friend of Cécile's parents.

Cast

Lily McInerny, Durga Chew-Bose, and Chloë Sevigny at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival

• Chloë Sevigny as Anne
• Claes Bang as Raymond
• Lily McInerny as Cécile
• Naïlia Harzoune as Elsa
• Aliocha Schneider as Cyril
• Nathalie Richard

Production

In May 2023, Film Constellation bought the rights to adapt Françoise Sagan's 1954 novel Bonjour Tristesse, with Durga Chew-Bose attached to direct the film. Producers include Babe Nation Films' Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott for whom it took three years to secure rights to the novel, and for whom it had been a seven-year project prior to the commencement of shooting. Also producing are Elevation Pictures' Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan, Wolfgang Mueller and Benito Mueller of Barry Films and Cinenovo's Julie Viez. Executive producers are Fabien Westerhoff for Constellation Productions, Suzanne Court, and Françoise Sagan's son Denis Westhoff. Principal photography began in May 2023 in Cassis in the south of France.

Release

Bonjour Tristesse premiered in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2024. In December 2024, Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights, while Elevation Pictures, which co-produced the film, will distribute it in Canada. The film was also sold to independent distributors in Spain, Portugal, MENA, the CIS, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and airlines, with Universal Pictures acquiring rights to the rest of the world. Bonjour Tristesse is set to be released theatrically in Canada and the United States on May 2, 2025.

Critical reception

Bonjour Tristesse received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

In The Hollywood Reporter, Caryn James wrote: "The first film by writer-director Durga Chew-Bose, its story of adolescent longing, jealousy and sexual awakening, updated here to the present, is always glorious to look at—from the brightly colored floor tiles to the glittering water. But once you're inside, its emotional trajectory is curiously flat, even though the cast includes two usually vibrant actors, Claes Bang and Chloë Sevigny."

IndieWire's Kate Erbland graded the film a "B", writing: "While remakes can feel, by their very nature, like the worst kind of retread (to say nothing of remakes of things first made in another medium), Chew-Bose's directorial debut is a sharp offering that adds to the mystique of the original material and makes a strong case for its own existence."

On RogerEbert.com, Marya E. Gates wrote: "Naïlia Harzoune is a wonder as Raymond's current lover Elsa, her passion infusing the film with its sole sense of energy or life. Although the character is more reserved by design, Chloë Sevigny as Ann, the best friend of Cécile's late mother and Raymond's soon-to-be new lover, gives the film's best performance. Behind her reserve is a scathing caustic wit, one that makes you think and laugh. It's a pity, then, that the leisurely pace hampers the escalation of emotions all three women feel, ending the film with a whimper rather than a bang. I'm sure the lowkey tone will work for some viewers, but for me, despite the beautifully rendered summer heat, the film ultimately left me cold."

External links

• Bonjour Tristesse at IMDb