The Path of Excellence

The Path of Excellence is a 2023 drama film directed by Frédéric Mermoud. It was written by Mermoud alongside Salvatore Lista and Anton Likiernik. It had its world premiere at the 76th Locarno Film Festival on 3 August 2023.

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Premise

Sophie, the daughter of a farming family, struggles to integrate into social life after enrolling in a classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles in Lyon.

Cast

Suzanne Jouannet as Sophie Vasseur
Marie Colomb as Diane Le Goff
Maud Wyler as Claire Fresnel, the physics teacher in the preparatory class
Marilyne Canto as Caroline Vasseur, Sophie's mother
Lorenzo Lefebvre as Hadrien Loiseau
Cyril Metzger as Laurent Vasseur, Sophie's brother
Alexandre Desrousseaux as Jules Couvreur
Antoine Chappey as Gérard Vasseur, Sophie's father

Production

The principal photography took place between October and November 2022 in Lyon and Paris. It also took place in Essonne, where a casting call for extras was published in early November.

Release

The Path of Excellence had its world premiere at the 76th Locarno Film Festival on 3 August 2023 during the Piazza Grande section. The film was released in French cinema on 9 August 2023. It garnered 35,015 admissions in its first week of release. It achieved 157,671 admissions during its theatrical run.

Reception

Critical reception

The Path of Excellence received an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 18 reviews.