{{short description|2013 film}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The French Minister | image = Quai d'Orsay (film) - french poster.jpg | caption = French theatrical release poster | native_name = {{Infobox name module|fr|Quai d'Orsay}} | director = Bertrand Tavernier | producer = {{Plainlist| * Frédéric Bourboulon * Jérôme Seydoux }} | writer = {{Plainlist| * Antonin Baudry * Christophe Blain * Bertrand Tavernier }} | starring = {{Plainlist| * Thierry Lhermitte * Raphaël Personnaz * Niels Arestrup }} | music = Philippe Sarde | cinematography = Jérôme Alméras | editing = Guy Lecome | studio = {{Plainlist| * Little Bear * Pathé * France 2 Cinéma * CN2 Productions * Alvy Développement }} | distributor = Pathé | released = {{Film date|df=yes|2013|9|9|TIFF|2013|11|6|France}} | runtime = 113 minutes | country = France | language = French | budget = $10.6 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=13710|title=Quai d'Orsay (The French Minister) (2013)|website=JPs Box-Office|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref> | gross = $5.6 million <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=frenchminister.htm|title=The French Minister (2014) - International Box Office Results|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref> }}
'''''The French Minister''''' ({{langx|fr|link=no|'''Quai d'Orsay'''}}, or by metonymy the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)) is a 2013 French comedy film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, his final narrative film. Based on ''Quai d'Orsay'', a comic strip by Christophe Blain and Abel Lanzac, the film takes an initially comedic look at the French Foreign Ministry under Dominique de Villepin but moves into more serious territory as France, in co-operation with Germany, opposes the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref name="TIFF">{{cite web |url=http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/festival/2013/quaidorsay |title=Quai d'Orsay |access-date=10 August 2013|work=TIFF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.unifrance.org/movie/35011/quai-d-orsay|title=Quai d'Orsay|publisher=unifrance.org |access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref> In January 2014, the film received three nominations at the 39th César Awards,<ref name="CésarNoms">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/frances-cesar-awards-nominations-announced-675607 |title=Berenice Bejo, Lea Seydoux, Roman Polanski Among France's Cesar Awards Nominees |access-date=1 February 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=31 January 2014 }}</ref> with Niels Arestrup winning the award for Best Supporting Actor.<ref name="CésarWinners">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cesar-awards-winners-list-684357 |title=France's Cesar Awards: 'Me, Myself and Mum' Wins Best Film |access-date=1 March 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=28 February 2014 }}</ref>
==Plot== After graduating from the ''École nationale d'administration'', which trains France's leaders in the public and private sectors, Arthur Vlaminck lands a job as speechwriter in the Foreign Ministry. Existing senior advisers do not welcome a talented newcomer who may become a competitor but his abilities are recognised by the Minister and, most important, by Maupas, the career official heading the department. That said, coming up with the right words for the constantly changing world situation and the constantly changing reactions of the Minister proves no easy task. He gets hastily written drafts past Maupas, and past other senior advisers who rubbish them, only to find that the Minister's needs have changed. The film ends in February 2003 with a re-enactment of the actual speech by Dominique de Villepin to the UN Security Council, at which he contradicted claims by Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld and argued passionately for disarmament of Iraq but not invasion.
==Cast== thumb|The minister character is based on Dominique de Villepin.<ref name=Cineuropa>{{cite news|url= http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=226679|title= Bertrand Tavernier to plunge into the secretive ''Quai d'Orsay''|first=Fabien|last=Lemercier|publisher=Cineuropa.org|date=27 September 2012|access-date=25 March 2013}}</ref> * Thierry Lhermitte as Alexandre Taillard de Worms (based on Dominique de Villepin), French Minister of Foreign Affairs * Raphaël Personnaz as Arthur Vlaminck, a young speechwriter * Niels Arestrup as Claude Maupas, the phlegmatic civil servant who actually runs the ministry * Julie Gayet as Valérie Dumontheil, special adviser on Africa * Jane Birkin as Molly Hutchinson, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature * Anaïs Demoustier as Marina, Arthur's fiancée * Alix Poisson as Odile, Maupas' secretary * Sonia Rolland as Nathalie, special adviser on relations with Parliament * Marie Bunel as Martine, the minister's secretary * Thomas Chabrol as Sylvain Marquet, special adviser on Europe * François Perrot as Antoine Taillard
==Locations== The film includes scenes shot in Berlin near the Reichstag, Dakar as a fictional African country, and the United Nations Building in New York.
==Quoted material== * The film sections are preceded by quotations from the Fragments of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. * The final speech at the UN is taken from de Villepin's address on Iraq at the United Nations Security Council on 14 February 2003.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|2609222}}
{{Bertrand Tavernier}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Minister}} Category:2013 films Category:2013 comedy films Category:2013 French-language films Category:Films à clef Category:Films about diplomats Category:Films about politicians Category:Films based on French comics Category:Films directed by Bertrand Tavernier Category:Films scored by Philippe Sarde Category:Films set in 2002 Category:Films set in 2003 Category:Films shot in Berlin Category:Films shot in New York City Category:Films shot in Senegal Category:French comedy films Category:Live-action films based on comics Category:Pathé films Category:2013 French films Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor César Award–winning performance Category:Dominique de Villepin Category:French-language comedy films Category:Films featuring a Most Promising Actor Lumières Award–winning performance