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Poster for Kings & Queen

Kings & Queen

2004 · 2h 30m · UNRATED Comedy, Drama, Romance
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin

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Overview

Shortly before her wedding, art gallery director Nora travels from Paris to Grenoble to visit her preteen son, Elias, who is spending time with her aging professor father, Louis, recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. During her stay, she reaches out to her former lover, Ismaël, a viola player and father figure to Elias who has been committed against his will to a mental hospital. Ismaël, however, has his own problems to sort out.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
88%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Desplechin's big, bold, iconoclastic feature Rois et Reine is a disconcerting film that can turn your head at the oddest moments.

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail
Fresh

Funny, absurd, often mocking itself and always quoting cultural history.

Susan Walker, Toronto Star
Fresh

While these characters' lives are melodramatic, individual scenes burst with kinetic energy from fast editing and an script that deftly underscores the destructive nature of male-female relationships.

Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fresh

There's a looseness to the camera work and storytelling that's appealingly breezy: This film feels, for better or worse, like real life.

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Fresh

Kings and Queen, full of passion and humor, madness and grief, is close to a masterpiece.

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

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