Maverick director Melvin Van Peebles translates his own satirical novel to the screen with this multi-national portrait of race, class, and hypocrisy. The film's title refers to the name of a haute cuisine restaurant run by a self-satisfied conservative couple, Henri and Loretta. When the two find themselves overworked in the kitchen, they retreat to the local orphanage to find some cheap waitressing help, and the teenaged Diamantine fits the bill perfectly. The haughty couple has more plans for the girl than just waiting tables, however -- the conspicuously accommodating Henri and Loretta are actually bad-mouthing the girl behind her back to the townspeople and the restaurant's patrons. They go so far as to ask the naive Diamantine to pretend that she's pregnant, and she complies under the assumption that it's a harmless prank. When their intentions are revealed, however, the girl becomes wise to the couple's self-satisfied scheming, and sets her sights on revenge.
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Cast
23 people
Andréa Ferréol
Loretta
Known for
The Last Metro
La Grande Bouffe
Jacques Boudet
Henri
Known for
The Count of Monte Cristo
Nikita
Melvin Van Peebles
Known for
The Shining
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Ron van Eeden
Meiji U Tum'si
Diamantine
Also in
It Begins with the End
Clandestin
F Jansen
Claude Perron
Blanchette
Known for
The Horde
Amélie
Yves Pasquier
Frank Delay
Lucien
Known for
Metal Hurlant Chronicles
Emmanuel Paulin
Stéphane Rollot
Herman van Veen
Jan
Melvin Van Peebles Director · Philippe Pavans de Ceccaty Cinematographer Catherine d'Hoir Editor
United States release October 1, 2000 · Produced in France, Netherlands · Languages English, French
Production
Havas Images
Production
Les Voleurs d'Ombres
Production
Harlekijn Holland
Production
Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO)
Production · Distribution
Accolade Pictures
Production
StudioCanal
Production
Co-Productiefonds Binnenlandse Omroep
Production
Conseil Régional de Franche-Comté
Production
France · Netherlands
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Le Conte du ventre plein
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
English · French
Release dates
France · June 28, 2000
Theatrical
United States · October 1, 2000
Chicago International Film Festival
Netherlands
October 5, 2002 · TV premiere
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Some details come from TheTVDB.