Film Review
With
L'Apparition (
The Apparition), his most ambitious and
original film to date, director Xavier Giannoli takes an unusual diversion
into Carl Dreyer territory, latching onto the mysteries of faith and how
these can impact on individuals whose needs go beyond the purely material.
Giannoli doesn't venture quite as far into the subject as Dreyer did with
his transcendent masterworks
La Passion de Jeanne d'arc
(1928) and
Ordet (1955), and it's perhaps
more honest to say that he uses this as merely the jumping off point for
what actually turns out to be a fairly routine, albeit well-crafted, procedural
thriller.
Much of Giannoli's work to date has concerned itself with the power of faith
and its consequences when it collides with reality. What his films
Quand j'étais chanteur
(2006),
À l'origine (2008)
and
Marguerite (2015) all have
in common is a central protagonist who suffers from a tragically misguided
faith in his or her own abilities, with effects that are variously poignant,
disturbing and hilarious. In
L'Apparition, Giannoli focus our
attention on a world-weary journalist - Vincent Lindon at his best - who is
sent on a quest for faith which is both personal and professional.
Severely traumatised by the recent brutal death of a friend during a stint
in Syria, Lindon's character badly needs the comfort that a spiritual awakening
might bring. But, at the same time, he is on a mission to assess the
veracity of a teenage girl's hard-to-believe claim that she has sighted the
Virgin Mary. It is the resulting conflict, between the healthy scepticism
the journalist needs to apply in his investigation and the profound inner
craving he has for spiritual comfort, that is the most interesting and successfully
handled aspect of the film.
Unfortunately, Giannoli is not content with limiting the scope of this film
in this way, so he broadens it out and it ends up as something of an overblown
mishmash, the sprawling narrative ultimately overwhelming its intricate character
study with all the trappings of a traditional big budget mystery thriller.
Whilst it lasts, the rapport that develops between Lindon and his co-star
Galatéa Bellugi (revealed in Hélène Zimmer's 2015 film
À 14 ans) makes for some pretty
astute drama, but when the plot mechanics come crashing in and divert the
film onto a more familiar path its interest value wanes considerably.
By the ninety minute mark the film has already outstayed its welcome and
has little more to offer with a denouement that is as drawn out as it is
contrived.
© James Travers 2019
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
A reporter on an important regional newspaper, Jacques has acquired a reputation
as a rigorous and impartial journalist. After witnessing the death of
a close friend and colleague during an assignment in Syria, he suffered a
breakdown and was forced to take some time off work. The boredom of
his new daily routine is relieved one day when he receives a telephone call
from the Vatican and an invitation to carry out a special mission on behalf
of the Catholic Church.
It seems that an 18-year-old girl named Anna has claimed to have witnessed
an apparition of the Virgin Mary in her hometown in the French Alps.
As a result, pilgrims are flocking to the town hoping for a repeat of the
miracle. Jacques's mission is to investigate the matter and decide
whether there is any truth in Anna's story or whether she has fabricated
it. In the course of his unusual investigation, the journalist soon
discovers much to concern him about the veracity of the young woman's sighting.
Unfortunately, there are some members of the Church who have a vested interest
in preventing Jacques from discovering the truth...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.