Stars: Romain Duris, Neils Arestrup, Jonathan Zaccai, Gilles Cohen, Linh Dan Pham

Director: Jacques Audiard

Summary: Director Jacques Audiard and screenwriter Tonino Benacquista, who shared a 2002 Cesar Award for Best Original Screenplay for 'Read My Lips', team up again in 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped', a gritty psychological drama set in the dark, dank streets of Paris. The film is based on James Toback's cult favourite 'Fingers', in which Harvey Keitel played a tortured soul trapped between his love of the piano and his involvement with the mob. In this remake, Romain Duris stars as Tom, a ne'er-do-well who works with two scheming real estate men, Fabrice (Jonathan Zaccai) and Sami (Gilles Cohen), who have little or no morals. When Tom sees his mother's old agent, he decides to return to the piano, practising Bach's Toccata in E Minor for an important audition that he envisions could be a life-changing event. He hires a Vietnamese woman, Miao-Lin (Linh-Dan Pham), as his teacher, even though they speak different languages. While struggling to regain his mastery of the piano - which he gave up after his virtuoso mother's tragic death - he is called upon by his partners to participate in shady deals and even help one of them cheat on his wife (Aure Atika). He also has a troublesome relationship with his father (Niels Arestrup), who asks Tom to collect money he is owed, putting him in dangerous situations. 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped' is an intelligent, involving film, told in long takes with a handheld camera to heighten the emotional impact of scene after scene.

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The Beat That My Heart Skipped could single-handedly give remakes a good name. Based on the 1978 American movie Fingers, The Beat , it stars Romain Duris (L'Auberge Espagnole) as Tom, a hoodlum who works the shady side of real estate--evicting poor families from slums, cutting quick and dirty deals in the middle of the night--following in the footsteps of his sleazy father. But clearly Tom loathes both himself and everything he does. One night he accidentally runs into the man who managed Tom's mother, who was a pianist; the manager asks Tom himself to audition, as Tom once showed promise. All at once Tom hires a tutor and neglects his "duties," raising the ire of his cohorts but starting to make himself happy. This could be hokum about the power of art, but Duris' performance is so visceral, so emotionally vivid and engaging, that The Beat That My Heart Skippedbecomes a remarkable parable about the danger of betraying yourself--all the more powerful because Tom's life doesn't simply get better, it grows dangerously more complicated. A superb movie with excellent performances throughout, making Duris' standout work all the more impressive. --Bret Fetzer

Aspect Ratio:	Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	French
Region:	Region 0
Special Features:	Filmographies, Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles:	English
Year:	2005
Release Date:	March 27, 2006
Runtime:	102 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	A R T 309 D V D
Keywords:	That, Heart, Subtitled, Beat, General, French, My, Drama, Skipped
Genre:	Drama