Alice et Martin (1998)
Directed by André Téchiné

Film Review

As in his earlier film Les Voleurs, Techiné uses the trick of telling part of the story out of sequence - in this case to reveal Martin's terrible secret.  This device works to some extent but disrupts the narrative flow perhaps needlessly - and what is revealed adds little to what has already been eluded to earlier in the film.   Also, the film has a noticeable bias towards the Martin character, to the detriment of Alice, whom we hardly get to know at all, despite an exceptional performance from the superlative Juliette Binoche.

Whilst flaws such as these are all too easily noticed - and doubtless critics will use these to lambast the film - the film manages to ride such faults very well.  This is a film that plays as much to the eyes as to the heart, the sombre lurid beauty of photography capturing very well the turmoil and unrest that tortures the lives of the fragile Alice and the bruised Martin.

Alexis Loret's performance as Martin is both engaging and commanding, despite his inexperience (this is his first major screen role).

Film Synopsis

In the southwest of France, Martin is leading a tranquil childhood with his mother and her boyfriend when his wealthy father, Victor Sauvagnac, insists on taking custody of him.  Martin's subsequent upbringing under the strict and unforgiving Sauvagnac is far from happy.  Not long after his father's death, Martin, now twenty, runs away from home and spends a few weeks living rough in the country.  His half brother Benjamin is pleased when he shows up unexpectedly at his studio apartment in Paris. An aspiring gay actor, Benjamin lives with a temperamental musician of his own age, Alice, and struggles to get by on what he earns.  Still troubled by his father's death, Martin starts to rebuild his life and is encouraged when he finds work with a modelling agency.  Despite her own problems, Alice finds herself drawn to him and the two are soon embarking on a passionate love affair.  When Martin's work takes him to Grenada, Alice follows him and reveals that she is pregnant with his child.  The revelation proves too much for Martin.  The couple flee to a quiet spot by the sea to take stock of their lives.  It is here that the anxious young man must come to terms with the terrible truth that he may have killed his own father...