Le fil

A stereotype-busting coming-out film considering its focus upon gay Arabs in an Islamic country (Tunisia), and they are not anywhere near as subtle as you would expect. It is hard to shake the notion however that their behaviour is more a discreet luxury of the bourgeoisie than typical of Tunisian attitudes in general.

I only watched because I spotted Salim Kechiouche (Le Clan, Mektoub, My Love, Engrenages) on the cast, but came away pleasantly surprised by a very moving and intelligent flick.

The Prelinger Antidote

Robert Bresson raises the art of kleptomania to visual poetry in this film about a young man who chooses thieving on the streets of Paris over an honest-day’s work.

Via minimal editing and incredibly nuanced and subtle direction, we are invited to observe the pickpocket’s successes and failures as he attempts to hone his craft. Psychologically we are toyed with—appalled at the audacity of his crimes, but admiringly complicit when he pulls them off. At one moment we wish him caught while at others we dread the possibility—perhaps because this bad man is actually a very complex man. An arrogant man but also a vulnerable man.

At times, Pickpocket feels like the polar opposite of those social guidance propaganda films from the 1950s. Instead of explaining how to avoid ne’er-do-wells, it gives you tips on how to be one.

It’s not hard to appreciate why censors in some countries were so spooked by it.

1 chance sur 2

It’s like a couple of your acting heroes got together with a beauty icon and produced a turd you couldn’t bring yourself to flush. Fascinatingly and entertainingly bad. The kind of shit we can all get behind because looking down upon cringe unites us.

The Typecasting of Dalle

Béatrice Dalle will never be allowed to leave behind this surprisingly sympathetic portrait of antisocial personality disorder. The film somehow begs you to remain neutral and objective while showcasing the most repellent extremes of the condition.

An interesting contrast to the portrayal of an equally disturbed young woman in L’été meurtrier—which was released just two years prior.

The Discreet Charm of Malle

French cities are in tatters as students and workers unite against capitalism and consumerism. Meanwhile, a bourgeois family in Provence bickers over inheritance before its deceased matriarch has even been put in the ground. Milou en mai is rather like a Luis Buñuel film but with the surrealism dialled all the way down. Surprisingly fun.

Rod Paradot: A Star Is Born

A six-year-old boy from a dysfunctional home is placed into care, develops serious emotional problems, and spends the next decade getting into trouble with the law while social welfare services fight to rehabilitate him.

La Tête Haute (Standing Tall) seems unremarkable when summarised like this, but it is actually a very compelling film—in large part due to the breakthrough performance of Rod Paradot who plays problem-child protagonist, Malony.

From his sneering disdain towards the Juvenile Court Judge portrayed by Catherine Deneuve, to the sheer physical embodiment of the mental demons that torture him, it is hard to believe that this is Paradot’s first film; that he was a trainee carpenter waiting to be discovered just months before production began.

One very jarring aspect of this film is its tendency to exasperate the viewer. Quite often Malony will seem to be making progress only to sabotage it with a senseless act. It becomes repetitive but is almost certainly intended to project the child protection team’s frustration onto the audience.

And here we find another trait that sets this apart from other recent French films concerned with the rehabilitation of troubled teenagers: It paints the Judge, the Social Worker, and their colleagues in a more constructive and positive light. They are as frustrated with the system as the child, but their battle is with the confines and constraints that impede their ability to help him. They actually seem to care.

Very much recommended.