Film Review
With
Le Pressentiment, actor
Jean-Pierre Darroussin finally fulfilled a longstanding ambition to
direct his own film, and does so with surprising skill and
maturity. Based on a 1935 novel of the same title by the little
known writer Emmanuel Bove, the film reveals the humanity of one man
through the inhumanity of the world in which he lives. In
this world, acts of kindness are regarded with great suspicion and
everyone is expected to behave selfishly and unkindly. The film
can best be summed up as a social parody, since it draws our attention
to the failings of our society in a subtle tongue-in-cheek vein.
With its humility, unpretentious mise-en-scène and understated
humour, the film matches the personality of its director.
In the many films in which he has appeared, Jean-Pierre Darroussin is
often cast as the sympathetic everyman who has a Buddhist-like
contentment with the simple life, respectful of others and untainted by
malice.
Le Presentiment
evokes these same character traits, but with a dark hint of
irony. The central character is a typical Darroussin creation,
yet now this ordinary modest man is shown to be an extraordinary hero,
a solitary beacon of hope in a world that has gone horribly awry.
The central character (perfectly played by Darroussin) is a strangely
ambiguous individual, someone who both rejects society and yet is
impelled to help others in need. He expects the worst of everyone
but he does not condemn others. Ultimately, he resembles a
latter-day Jesus Christ whose attempts at redeeming humanity are doomed
to fail. since humanity has now passed the point of
salvation. The film's apparent simplicity belies the
complexity of the humanist and social themes that it seeks to
address. A pointedly sour reflection of our present world,
Le Pressentiment is as unsettling
as it is profound.
© James Travers 2010
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Film Synopsis
Charles Bénesteau is a barrister who has given up everything -
his family, his mistress and his father's inheritance - to live in a
poor working class district of Paris. Here, in a noisy apartment,
he lives a hermit-like existence, devoting himself to thinking and
writing in solitude. He has grown weary of bourgeois
society and sees nothing good in humanity. His siblings cannot
understand his actions and mistake him for a misanthrope. But
Charles is always willing to help others in need. When a stranger
turns up on his doorstep and asks for help in divorcing his wife,
Charles willingly lends his support. When the man is subsequently
arrested for assaulting his wife, Charles takes in his daughter and
hires a nurse to look after her. Of course, those around him
question his motives and Charles does not expect to receive any
thanks for his efforts...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.