Presents THE LAST MISTRESS (UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE) A Film by Catherine Breillat FILM FESTIVALS CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2007 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2007 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2007 CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2007 AFI FILM FESTIVAL 2007 SAN FRANCISCO FILM FESTIVAL 2008 – OPENING NIGHT (114 mins, France/Italy, 2007) Distribution Publicity Bonne Smith 1028 Queen Street West Star PR Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1H6 Tel: 416-488-4436 Tel: 416-516-9775 Fax: 416-516-0651 Fax: 416-488-8438 E-mail:
[email protected] E-mail:
[email protected] www.mongrelmedia.com High res stills may be downloaded from http://www.mongrelmedia.com/press.html SYNOPSIS THE LAST MISTRESS is a smoldering adaptation of Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly’s scandalous 19 th- century novel. Set during the reign of “citizen king” Louis Philippe, it chronicles the surprising betrothal of the aristocratic, handsome Ryno de Marigny (newcomer Fu-ad Aît Aattou) to Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida of FAT GIRL), a young, beautiful and virginal aristocrat. Lurking in the margins – and in the imaginations of high society’s gossip-hounds – is de Marigny’s older, tempestuous lover of ten years, the feral La Vellini (Argento). Described as, “a capricious flamenca who can outstare the sun,” La Vellini still burns for de Marigny, and she will not go quietly. Though a fascinating departure into more traditional storytelling, THE LAST MISTRESS sees Breillat continuing her career-long interest in the ramifications of female desire, casting Argento as an impassioned independent woman for the ages, but it is also a surprisingly witty and touching – and needless to say sexily explicit - period drama that explores the age-old battle of the sexes.