Film Review
One of the most beautiful French films to be aired in 2016 (it was rapturously
received when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival),
Le Parc will
surely establish its director Damien Manivel as one of France's most promising
new auteur filmmakers. His debut feature,
Un jeune poète (2015), was
just as remarkable, but somehow this enticing first oeuvre managed to pass
without attracting anything like the attention it deserved. The stark
simplicity of
Le Parc belies its sophistication as a piece of film
art. An extraordinarily honest and unadorned depiction of a first amorous
encounter, it is a film that both enchants and unsettles with its unique
poetry.
Made on microbudget,
Le Parc is a curious fable that feels like a
gently ironic re-interpretation of the Garden of Eden story. It begins
in the manner of a leisurely Eric Rohmer romance, with a pair of attractive
youngsters meeting up in a park and struggling to get to know one another.
From their obvious nervousness and the way that they look at each other it
is clear that they both harbour lustful yearnings for the other. But
there is such an innocence in the way the young lovers interact and play
with each other that they look more like children enjoying each other's company
than grown-ups embarking on the first phase of their mating ritual.
It's an odd thing that whilst cinema has shown just about everything there
is to see in a romantic liaison, the one thing that has been overlooked is
that crucial first meeting when Cupid gets out his bow and starts firing
off his arrows. It is this lacuna that
Le Parc seeks to fill,
and it does so with breathtaking finesse.
All that Manivel has to play with are two photogenic young actors and a stunning
park, yet this is more than enough for him and his camera operator to compose
a sublime piece of cinema. As the day melts virtually unnoticed into
night, the mood of the film gradually changes until we find ourselves in
a very different place - the sad solitariness of night, savouring the bitter
melancholy of the day that has passed. It is this transition from light
to dark, from the exterior world of infinite possibilities to the inner world
of fragile illusions, that Manivel handles most expertly. It is impossible
not to be affected by this delicate ode to love - a work of powerful contrasts
that takes us from euphoria to disillusionment and leaves us profoundly moved.
© James Travers 2017
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Film Synopsis
One bright summer's day, a young man in his late teens is waiting for someone
in a park. He is joined by a girl of about his age and it is apparent
that they are on a first date. They are both nervous about the encounter
and find it hard to engage in conversation. But they are clearly attracted
to one another and as the hours drift lazily by they become more comfortable
in each other's company. Wandering through the park, they reveal their
interests - he talks about Freud, she talks about gymnastics. In an
area of woodland, they share their first kiss. But already the day
is nearing its end. As the light fades, the youngsters part company.
Left alone, the girl sits down and sends her new lover a text message.
The reply she gets is not what she had hoped for...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.