Film Review
L'Esquive is Tunisian film
director Abdel Kechiche's eagerly awaited follow up to his impressive
debut feature
La Faute à Voltaire
(2000). The film met with widespread critical acclaim when it was
released in France in 2004, winning many awards including no fewer than
four Césars in 2005 (including the Best Film and Best Director
awards). The film's distinctive naturalistic style and captivating
performances from a non-professional cast have earned it favourable
reviews across the world and helped to establish Kechiche as one of the
most well-regarded directors working in France today. Its
lead actress, Sara Forestier, received a César for her
performance and has since become one of French cinema's rising stars.
L'Esquive is certainly an
impressive take on the social drama, with a raw edge that makes the
intensely naturalistic dramas by the Dardenne brothers look positively
polished by comparison. It is, admittedly, not a particularly
accessible film - the plot is thin, to the point of being virtually
non-existent, and some spectators will struggle to make sense of its
dialogue - a mixture of teenage street slang and verlan
(backslang). What is most surprising about the film, however, is
its weirdly optimistic assertion that ordinary street kids on a housing
estate could be minded to take a serious interest in 18th century
drama. It's a curious departure from the social reality that
gives the film its poetry and indefinable charm.
© James Travers 2007
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Abdellatif Kechiche film:
La Graine et le mulet (2007)
Film Synopsis
On a rundown housing estate on the outskirts of Paris, Krimo, a teenage boy of North African
descent, lives with his mother in a cramped apartment. Shortly after he is
dumped by his girlfriend, Krimo notices another girl, Lydia. Although he is instantly
attracted to her, Krimo is too shy to show his feelings for her. It so happens
that Lydia is playing a part in a school production of a Marivaux play. In order
to get to know her, he bribes another boy to let him take his place in the play...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.