Esther Kahn

Esther Kahn
Directed by	Arnaud Desplechin
Written by	Arnaud Desplechin Emmanuel Bourdieu Arthur Symons, story
Produced by	Alain Sarde
Starring	Summer Phoenix Ian Holm Fabrice Desplechin László Szabó Frances Barber
Narrated by	Ramin Gray
Cinematography	Eric Gautier
Edited by	Hervé de Luze Martine Giordano
Music by	Howard Shore
Production company	Why Not Productions
Distributed by	BAC Films (France) Feature Film Company (United Kingdom)
Release dates	18 May 2000 (2000-05-18) (Cannes) 1 March 2002 (2002-03-01) (U.S.)
Running time	142 minutes
Countries	France United Kingdom
Language	English

Esther Kahn is the first English-language film by the French director Arnaud Desplechin. It premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or,^[1] but was not distributed to the United States for two years until it played in New York City in 2002. It stars Summer Phoenix as Esther and Ian Holm as her friend and teacher, Nathan Quellen.

Plot

Esther Kahn, a Jewish girl in 19th Century London, dreams of becoming a stage actress.

Cast

• Summer Phoenix - Esther Kahn
• Ian Holm - Nathan Quellen
• Fabrice Desplechin - Philippe Haygard
• Akbar Kurtha - Samuel Kahn
• Frances Barber - Rivka Kahn
• László Szabó - Ytzhok Kahn
• Hilary Sesta - Buba
• Claudia Solti - Mina Kahn
• Berna Raif - Becky Kahn
• Emmanuelle Devos - Sylvia (the Italian woman)
• Paul Regan - Joel
• Arnold Brown - Rabbi
• Leon Lissek - Theatre manager
• Ian Bartholomew - Norton
• Samantha Lavelle - Christel
• Kika Markham - Trish
• Paul Ritter - Alman, the photographer

Production

Deplechin adapted the screenplay with regular collaborator Emmanuel Bourdieu from a short story by Arthur Symons of the same name from his book Spiritual Adventures. Summer Phoenix auditioned three times before she was offered the role of Esther.^[2]

Reception

Initial reviews of the film were mixed. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 52%, based on 25 reviews.^[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 12 critics.^[4]

Cahiers du cinéma named it the best film of 2000.^[5] In 2010 it ranked 52nd on Film Comment's end of the decade critics poll.^[6]

References

1. "Festival de Cannes: Esther Kahn". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
2. Rubin, Lauren (23 February 2002). "SUDDENLY, IT'S SUMMER The youngest of the Phoenix acting clan makes her mark in 'Esther kahn'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
3. "Esther Kahn". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
4. "Metacritic Esther Kahn Reviews". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
5. Johnson, Eric C. "Cahiers du Cinema: Top Ten Lists 1951-2009". alumnus.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
6. "Film Comment's End-of-the-Decade Critics' Poll". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

External links

• Esther Kahn at IMDb