Culture
12 films made in the mountains
Do you like the mountains? Do you like cinema? Then you’ll love these films shot entirely or partly in the mountains, where you’ll sometimes find familiar landscapes. The mountains lend themselves very well to filming, with atmospheres as changeable as the mountains themselves: sometimes oppressive for a thriller, sometimes bucolic for a contemplative film, or just magnificent for the most beautiful of film sets!
Top box-office films shot in the mountains
Belle et Sebastien 1 & 2
Everyone knows Sébastien and the Pyrenean mountain dog Belle. Even more so at altitude, where they are very well known to mountain dwellers and are part of our collective heritage, a bit like Heidi! The films based on Cécile Aubry’s books and the TV series, released in 2013 and 2015, were shot in the mountains of Haute-Maurienne. In fact, you can step into Sébastien’s shoes by taking a tour of the filming locations organised by the local tourist offices.
The crimson rivers
Mathieu Kassovitz’s French thriller, based on the novel by Jean-Christophe Grangé, was shot in the mountains of Haute-Maurienne, Haute-Savoie and Isère.
The setting for the murders and eugenics is a stressful and grandiose mountain, a character in the film in its own right.
In 1999, the film crews held a casting session at the Lycée de Saint-Jean de Maurienne to find the extras for the class scene. So some mountain people were cast!
Une swirondelle a fait le printemps
Inspired by a true story, this film starring Mathilde Seigner and Michel Serrault was shot in the Vercors, notably in Autrans. The set takes on an important dimension here as it allows the heroine to start a new life, the starting point of the film.
Christian Carion couldn’t find the ideal setting for his film. In desperation, he hired a plane for two hours and flew over the Vercors massif. He discovered an isolated farm that would have been difficult to discover by car* (allociné).
Malabar Princess
The film is based on an event that is well known to mountain dwellers: the crash of the Malabar Princess plane in the Mont-Blanc massif in 1950. Giving the massif a central role in the story, the mountain film magnifies the landscapes of the area, making them poetic and bucolic. Although based on a disaster, Jacques Villeret and Michèle Laroque, a great lover of the mountains, deliver a sensitive film full of tenderness.
International films shot in the mountains
The ideal traitor
Marrakech, Berne, Paris, London… and Pralognan-la Vanoise are the filming locations for the British spy film released in 2016. The mountains are not at the heart of the story, but the actors did pop into the French resort for a few shots. Starring Ewan Mc Gregor, the film follows a case of money laundering and the Russian mafia.
Many Indian films are also shot in the mountains. Forbidden to film in the unstable region of Kashmir, Bollywood teams are often present in the Alps to shoot dance and song scenes. The pure water and pastures make the locations mythical for Indians and are highly visual for colourful films.
007 in the mountains
JAMES BONDESQUES ANECDOTES
- The trailer for “Demain ne meurt jamais” was shot in 1997 at the Peyragudes altiport.
- Candice Gilg, former ski champion in 1995 and 1997, doubled Sophie Marceau in “Le monde ne suffit pas”.
The most awarded
Snow Therapy
Shot in the mountains, Snow Therapy is the most awarded film in Swedish history. It also won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes in 2014, and is an intelligent, behind-the-scenes look at family relationships filmed in Les Arcs. Director Ruben Ostlund began his brilliant career shooting freeride ski films. Returning to the mountains after making a few films in the city was a breath of fresh air for him.
The two children in the film are dubbed by children from the Les Arcs ski club, and the ski scenes are also performed by local residents.
The film opens with a shot of Les Arcs just below Mont Blanc. A stunning montage that prompted the director to say: “Never believe what you see in the cinema!
The production company in charge of the film in France also produced the highly successful Canal+ series Les Revenants, which was partly filmed in Tignes and Haute-Savoie.
La Tête Haute
With 3 awards and 9 nominations, including a César for Rod Paradot, Emmanuelle Bercot’s film is one of the great films of 2015.
The bright summer scenes are shot in the mountain landscapes of Villard-de-Lans and Méaudre, like symbols of hope for a better life, which is the whole point of the film.
With all our might
The mountains are the perfect backdrop for this film about surpassing oneself, a value that counts at altitude! Shot at Val Thorens (Cime Caron) and La Clusaz, the film was also previewed at the Les Arcs European Film Festival, where its young actor Fabien Héraud was able to discover wheelchair skiing.
Mountain films for laughs
The First Star
La Première Etoile has become a classic winter film, shot in Les Gets! In it, mountain people and holidaymakers are portrayed without complacency, but with tenderness and kindness. A touching mountain comedy, the film won the Grand Prix du Jury and the Prix du Public at the 12th Alpe d’Huez International Comedy Film Festival in 2009. You can even hear Jean Ferrat’s song “La Montagne” in the film!
Tout Schuss
Tout Schuss is a French comedy film shot in Les Contamines Montjoie. Initially, the film was to be a romantic comedy about a snow class in the mountains. It turned out to be a very different film starring José Garcia, which was released in 2015. Allociné tells us that the filming locations are also those of Robert Bibal’s 1946 film Le Fugitif. A friend of producer Marc-Etienne Schwartz, whose family runs the ski lifts in the resort, welcomed the team to the mountains.
Mince Alors
Welcome to the thermal baths of Brides-les-Bains! This film by Charlotte de Turckheim starring Victoria Abril was shot in the resort, at the foot of the mountains. Its subject is the weight-loss spa treatments, but also, more generally, the life of the town with its spa-goers (like the shop that “doesn’t cater for small sizes”!). Some of the extras were actually taking a course of treatment in Brides at the time of filming.