Tumultes (1990)

Tumultes is a French film first released in 1990, directed by Bertrand Van Effenterre.  The film stars Bruno Cremer, Nelly Borgeaud, Julie Jézéquel, Clotilde de Bayser and Laure Marsac.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Three sisters are reunited with their parents at their home on the Brittany coast.  Their brother Patrick has died tragically and they must somehow come to terms with the loss.  Anne, the eldest of the three girls, fights to hold back her own emotions as she comforts her younger sisters.  Isabelle, the most rebellious of the sisters, hasn’t been near the family home for eight years, and is filled with resentment after what life has done to her.  The youngest sister, Claude, is the twin of the dead adolescent, and so her loss is greatest.  Whilst the sisters share their grief, their father withdraws into silent meditation, leaving their mother to slip further into ill health and insanity.  Then the circumstances of Patrick’s death are revealed...

Relentlessly sombre and charged with pent-up emotion, Tumultes is a modest Franco-Belgian production offering a respectable portrayal of loss and bereavement.  The skilfully sober direction, understated performances and narrative economy make watching this film a poignant meditative experience.  The film’s main selling point is Yves Angelo’s stunning photography of the Brittany setting, which perfectly complements the drama and cannot help but evoke in the spectator an aching sense of empathy with the film’s protagonists.  A simple film, but one that is surprisingly effective.

© James Travers 2004

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