Rated: R    Runtime: 120 mins.
(De rouille et d'os)
"Broke, homeless, and drifting, Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) scrambles to make a living for himself and his young son: he steals food, sleeps on the streets, and finally relocates to the French Riviera to live with his estranged sister in her cramped apartment. All too happy to let his sister watch the boy, Ali focuses on his burgeoning career as a back-alley boxer, dreaming of making it big as a mixed martial artist. Taking work as a nightclub bouncer, he crosses paths with Stéphanie (Marion Cotillard), who works as a killer-whale trainer at an amusement park, commanding the beasts with an ease absent from her interpersonal relations. After Stéphanie suffers a terrible accident, the unlikely pair falls into a tender, tentative courtship. Audiard constructs this character study with masterful precision, blending Dardennes-style naturalism with dreamily impressionistic visions and tense, staccato cutting. Physicality is at the core of the film, and he captures visceral images with unflinching matter-of-factness. His two leads, meanwhile, generate an irresistible chemistry in their strange romance: fresh from his breakout performance in last year's Bullhead, Schoenaerts is that rare combination of imposing presence and vulnerability, while Cotillard gives a bold performance, emotionally raw and achingly soulful. An unconventional and deeply felt study of human frailty, Rust and Bone proves Audiard's (Un Prophèt) most assured cinematic turn to date". - Cameron Bailey, Toronto Film Festival. Directed by Jacques Audiard. With Armand Verdure, Céline Sallette, Corinne Masiero, Bouli Lanners, Jean-Michel Correia, Mourad Frarema & Yannick Choirat. 2012, MPAA Rating: R, 2012, France/Belgium, In French with English subtitles, 120 mins.