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Un monde sans pitié
1989 Drama / Romance
 Review
With three impressive short films under his belt, Eric Rochant made his
feature debut with what is arguably one of the most important French
films of the 1980s. Un
monde sans pitié not only tells a poignant love story,
skilfully crafted with immense sincerity and lyricism, but it also
offers a convincing portrayal of youth disaffection in the late
1980s. Rochant may not be the most productive of film makers – he
has made only seven full length films in the past twenty years – but he
is highly regarded. His films often deal with important social
and political themes and give an honest, and sometimes provocative,
reflection of contemporary France. Un monde sans pitié is
unquestionably Rochant’s best work to date, a thoughtful drama with
existential undercurrents that appears more relevant today than when it
was first released. The film offered Hippolyte Girardot his first leading role and he carries the part of the rebellious Hippo magnificently. The 33-year old actor (who looks no older than 25 on screen) has an extraordinary presence that evokes something of James Dean in Rebel Without a cause (1955) and the young Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954). Girardot’s portrayal has an urban-Byronesque quality that is both endearing and disturbing – disturbing because we never know what his character is capable of. Hippo represents that side of us all that longs to be free, yet he is a tragic shadow of a man whose freedom is entirely illusory. In his subsequent career, Hippolyte Girardot would deliver many great performances but he would rarely be as good as he is in this film. © filmsdefrance.com 2009 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Eric Rochant
Starring: Hippolyte Girardot, Mireille Perrier, Yvan Attal, Jean-Marie Rollin, Cécile Mazan Synopsis
Better a dropout than a yuppie, that’s the philosophy of Hippo, a young
man who has turned his back on the entire capitalist system. Why
should he work his nuts off, making himself someone else’s slave, when
he can get by quite happily on his poker winnings? He has
one responsibility, however: to look after his younger
brother. But since his brother is willing to give him a cut of
the money he makes as a drugs dealer, he doesn’t see this as too much
of an imposition. Hippo isn’t rich, he doesn’t have designer
clothes or a nice car, but he is happy in his smug
self-sufficiency. And then he meets Nathalie. She is
everything he detests – a prim middleclass student who is intent on
pursuing a successful career as an interpreter. And yet Hippo is
fascinated by her; she invades his every thought; he wants to possess
her. Although initially suspicious of her new admirer, Nathalie
soon takes a liking to him. She is impressed by Hippo’s honesty
and is charmed by his strange romantic qualities. But, even as
they fall in love, each has to recognise that they come from two
completely different worlds. Nathalie wants to belong to the busy
materialistic world. Hippo seeks merely to reject it...
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© filmsdefrance.com 2009