The Path of Excellence

The Path of Excellence (French: La Voie royale) is a 2023 drama film directed by Frédéric Mermoud. It was written by Mermoud alongside Salvatore Lista and Anton Likiernik. It had its world premiere at the 76th Locarno Film Festival on 3 August 2023.

The Path of Excellence
FrenchLa Voie royale
Directed byFrédéric Mermoud
Written by
  • Frédéric Mermoud
  • Salvatore Lista
  • Anton Likiernik
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTristan Tortuyaux
Edited bySarah Anderson
Music byAudrey Ismaël
Production
companies
  • Tabo Tabo Films
  • Bande à Part Film
  • Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
Distributed byPyramide Distribution
Release date
  • 3 August 2023 (2023-08-03) (Locarno)
Running time
109 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Switzerland
LanguageFrench
Box office$1,073,851[1]

Premise

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Sophie, the daughter of a farming family, struggles to integrate into social life after enrolling in a classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles in Lyon.[2]

Cast

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  • Suzanne Jouannet as Sophie Vasseur
  • Marie Colomb as Diane Le Goff
  • Maud Wyler as Claire Fresnel, the physics teacher in the preparatory class
  • Marilyne Canto as Caroline Vasseur, Sophie's mother
  • Lorenzo Lefebvre as Hadrien Loiseau
  • Cyril Metzger as Laurent Vasseur, Sophie's brother
  • Alexandre Desrousseaux as Jules Couvreur
  • Antoine Chappey as Gérard Vasseur, Sophie's father

Production

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The principal photography took place between October and November 2022 in Lyon and Paris.[3] It also took place in Essonne, where a casting call for extras was published in early November.[4]

Release

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The Path of Excellence had its world premiere at the 76th Locarno Film Festival on 3 August 2023 during the Piazza Grande section.[5] The film was released in French cinema on 9 August 2023.[6] It garnered 35,015 admissions in its first week of release.[7] It achieved 157,671 admissions during its theatrical run.[8]

Reception

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Critical reception

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The Path of Excellence received an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 18 reviews.[9]

Accolades

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Film festival or award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Lumières Award 22 January 2024 Best Female Revelation Suzanne Jouannet Nominated [10]
César Awards 23 February 2024 Best Female Revelation Nominated [11]
Swiss Film Awards 22 March 2024 Best Feature Film The Path of Excellence Nominated [12][13]
Best Supporting Actress Maud Wyler Won
Best Screenplay Frédéric Mermoud, Salvatore Lista, and Anton Likiernik Nominated
Best Editing Sarah Anderson Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "The Path of Excellence". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  2. ^ "THE PATH OF EXCELLENCE". Pyramide Films. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  3. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (14 October 2022). "Frédéric Mermoud is shooting The Path of Excellence". Cineuropa. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Essonne. Des figurants recherchés pour le tournage d'un long-métrage". Ouest-France. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  5. ^ Baughan, Nikki (31 July 2023). "Locarno 2023 line-up guide: Piazza Grande and International Competition titles". Screen Daily. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  6. ^ "« La Voie royale », « Animalia », « Un coup de maître »… Les sorties cinéma du 9 août". La Croix. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Box Office du film La Voie royale". AlloCiné. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  8. ^ "La Voie royale (The Path of Excellence) (2023)". JP Box-Office. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  9. ^ "La Voie Royale - Film 2023". AlloCiné. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  10. ^ Roxborough, Scott (14 December 2023). "'Anatomy of a Fall' Leads France's Lumiere Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  11. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (24 January 2024). "'The Animal Kingdom' Leads Nominations For France's 2024 César Awards, Followed By 'Anatomy Of A Fall' – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  12. ^ Wyrsch, Georges (24 January 2024). "Schweizer Filmpreis 2024: Die Romandie hat die Nase vorn". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  13. ^ Del Don, Muriel (25 March 2024). "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry and The Hearing are voted Best Fiction Film and Best Documentary at the Swiss Film Awards". Cineuropa. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
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