The first film of New York-based French director Raphael Nadjari is an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Gentle Creature, which had also inspired Une Femme douce of Robert Bresson. The Shade is a drama about a mysterious woman and a pawnbroker who meet in New York. The film begins with Simon, who is alone in his apartment with the corpse of his wife, Anna, who has just committed suicide. In his grief, he remembers the first time he met her, a year ago when she walked into his pawnbroker's shop in Spanish Harlem. Mysterious Anna, who seems to come from nowhere, impresses solitary Simon with her sad beauty, and he proposes to her on their first night out. The Shade is a love story with great psychological insight.
Where to watch
Not streaming anywhere
Not on any streaming service in United States, and not available to rent.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
10 people
Richard Edson
Simon
Known for
Do the Right Thing
Platoon
Lorie Marino
Anna
Also in
Jo-Jo at the Gate of Lions
Abandoned '58
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Raphaël Nadjari
Caroline Bonmarchand
Also in
The Disenchanted
Barbara Haas
La Mere
Also in
Marvel's Daredevil
Synecdoche, New York
Francesca Feder
Jacob Lavin
Le Neveu
Also in
Weapons
Law & Order
Geoffroy Grison
Jeffrey Ware
Moser
Known for
Thinner
Interrogation
Raphaël Nadjari Director · Fyodor Dostoevsky Author
Budget $400K · United States release March 25, 1999 · Produced in United States
Box office
Budget
$400,000
Production
Filmaker
Production
Stolen Car Productions
Production
Whole Nine Productions
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Release dates
United States · March 25, 1999
Theatrical
France
May 21, 1999 · Cannes Film Festival
Slovakia
January 1, 2010 · Bratislava International Film Festival
More from Raphaël Nadjari
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked The Shade
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.