'... the sense of fragility and fleetingness of lives is moving and effective.' Nick James, SIGHT AND SOUND (Venice Report) '... the film's incredible romantic and emotional power is irresistible... Desplechin's approach to his material is staggering in its virtuosity, as if the talents of Woody Allen and François Truffaut had been marshalled by Alfred Hitchcock. But let us simply say that it is Desplechin's film, and that seldom have we been provoked to laughter and tears in the cinema by virtue of such a dis- concerting ease and grace.' KINGS AND QUEEN leads us to that magical place where the unfathomable cruelty of the per- manent conflict that afflicts us all - the conflict between man and woman, father and child, life and death - is transmuted by the spirit and beauty of an art which gives us, each time a work of these dimensions appears, several reasons to retain our faith in humanity.' Jacques Mandelbaum - LE MONDE 'This enjoyable French picture welds together drama, melodrama and comedy in a blend with potentially strong European audience appeal...' Deborah Young, VARIETY 'A movie of large gestures and outsize performances…it’s moment-to-moment enthralling' J. Hoberman, THE VILLAGE VOICE 'Desplechin has taken a triumphant detour into humane marital drama…The two central performers…turn in career-high work of deft complexity; you will not see better acting at the festival.' TIME OUT NEW YORK 'Desplechin explores the uncharted territory between comedy and tragedy, exhilaration and despair, belief and godlessness. KINGS AND QUEEN is one of the most richest, most rollicking movies you’re likely to see this year.' NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAMME 2004 'Overwhelmed, inspired, and irritated, mesmerized by the complexity of the film’s expression of contradictory feelings, constantly surprised by its narrative shifts and by the way Desplechin juggles different genres and modes of expression- and makes everything gel. KINGS AND QUEEN, quite simply leaves you speechless' FILM COMMENT '…it’s a remarkably dynamic, unpredictable and involving study of various types of commitment' Hannah McGill, THE GLASGOW HERALD 'A wonderfully sprawling and exhilarating melodrama... impressively acted' Tom Dawson, TOTAL FILM