Un frère (1997) - film review

Despite his modest background, Loïc is determined to make a living as a photographer, with a little help from his friend Vincent, who comes from a respectable bourgeois milieu.  Loïc’s world could not be more different from Vincent’s.  He lives in a working class suburb of Paris with his mother and Sophie, his younger sister, who is still at school but growing up fast.  Loïc is eager to escape from a life of deprivation, drugs and crime, and will do anything to realise his dream....

Un frère is a brave but flawed attempt to portray youth culture of the late 1990s and is the first full length film from Sylvie Verheyde.   The film offered Emma de Caunes her first significant role and her performance earned her the Most Promising Actress César in 1998.  The loosely structured narrative, ugly presentation and superficial characterisation don’t exactly endear the film to its audience, although, to its credit, it does capture something of the frustration, indeed desperation, of young people who are unable to break away from their milieu and make a more positive future for themselves.  The issue of social mobility depicted in the film was a particularly acute problem in France in the 1990s, and some might argue that the situation has not improved greatly since.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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