L’Envol (2000) - film review

Stan is a Jewish lad living in Paris’ 9th arrondissement.  His ambition is to become an actor, but his parents have already decided that he will work in the family butcher’s business.  When a friend of his dies in a street brawl, Stan takes matters into his own hands: he gives up school, leaves his parents and takes up drama lessons.  He is supported by Julie, a young woman who shares his dreams, and his uncle Joseph, who has alienated himself from his family for wanting to marry a non-Jew.   Stan soon discovers that getting his first acting job is far more difficult than he had anticipated…

In this conventional French drama, Steve Suissa tells his own real-life story of how he managed to overcome family pressure and self-doubt to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.  Whilst the film runs a little too predictably, lacking originality in both the script and its realisation, it is an effective first film from Suissa, who at least manages to keep his audience interested in the subject of his film.  Although the story is a familiar one, it is told with sincerity and good humour, with scarcely a whiff of sentimentality.

The pleasure of seeing an excellent cast perform well more than outweighs the film’s shortcomings in other areas.  Most impressive is Clément Sibony, whose engaging and believable performance effortlessly carries the film.   A promising young talent (with no doubt a great future ahead of him), Sibony has a rare gift for getting his audience to share in his emotions, and his portrayal of an aspiring young actor is both sympathetic and credible.   The contributions from Isabelle Carré and Steve Suissa (and, indeed, most of the cast) are almost as praiseworthy, and are certainly well above average for a run-of-the-mill drama.  Overall, L’Envol is an attractive little film which, despite its simplicity, offers a satisfying alternative to the more demanding dramas French cinema has given us in recent years.

© James Travers 2004

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