PHILIP ROTH

Unmasked

  • Direction

    Livia Manera
  • Author

    William Karel et Livia Manera
  • Coproduction

    with the participation of
    RAI, RTS, SBS TV Australia, SRF and the CNC
    with the support of
    Procirep-Angoa
  • Broadcaster

    ARTE

Synopsis

Seven days: we spent seven days with Philip Roth – in New York where he lives, and in his estate in the heart of Connecticut Woodlands where he wrote several of his novels. We filmed him at home and at work, in the streets of New York and in the countryside. But mostly – we let him talk. And talk he did, confiding in us like never before, allowing us into his inner circle where we met the likes of Mia Farrow, a longtime friend who inspired part of his new novel, Nemesis. He spoke of his family, his fantasies, his obsessions, Jewish humor, the turmoil of sex, love, the writers he admired, fame, depression, old age, illness, impotence and death – all the while reading to us from his own books.

The last giant icon of American literature, Philip Roth cuts a fascinating, disrupting, indeed disturbing, figure as a writer. From Portnoy’s Complaint, his first literary success, to his latest works, he has painted an uncompromising picture of society – a society from which he has retired for self-preservation. Revealing himself here for the very first time at age 78, the great man is very much alive and kicking – a man of charm, exquisitely funny… and full of surprises!

  • Available versions

    VF, VI, VFST
  • Format

    16/9
  • Support location

    HDcam
  • Distributor

    France : Cinétévé
  • Technical team

    editing : Stéphanie Mahet
    camera : François Reumont
    sound : Theo Caris
  • Cast

    original score : Matthieu Langlet

    with the voice of : André Dussollier
  • International sales

    Windrose