Film Review
For his first film as a director, Roschdy Zem takes on the weighty
subject of racial tolerance and, despite some evident first-time
nerves, he delivers a film that is both good-natured and true to
life. One of French cinema's best-known and most highly regarded
actors, Zem has so far graced over fifty films, many with a
contemporary racial theme.
Mauvaise
foi offers a sobering reminder that racism is still very much
present in our seemingly colour-blind society - indeed racial prejudice
is something which afflicts us all, something that is built into our
DNA. What it is particularly interesting about this film is that
the greater threat to the relationship of a mixed couple is not how
others perceive them, but how they imagine others perceive them.
Learning to understand the causes of racial intolerance is halfway
towards resolving the problems of racism. The film may at first
appear somewhat superficial, but it contains some important messages
for our time.
Zem's inexperience as a director is evident throughout the film.
His direction is pretty uninspired and at times the film resembles a
low-grade soap opera. His screenplay (co-written with another
distinguished actor, Pascal Elbé) is also marred by first film
nervousness and is just a little too wary of causing offence.
Fortunately, these weakness on the directing and writing fronts are
effectively masked by the contributions from the superlative
cast. Zem is effectively partnered with Cécile De France,
a gifted actress who provides the film with its most intense and
poignant moments - it is the sincerity that she brings to her scenes
that most lifts the film and gives it the edge it badly needs.
The talented supporting cast includes Jean-Pierre Cassel (magnificent
in one of his last screen roles) and an instantly likeable Pascal
Elbé. If only the writing had matched the quality of
the acting,
Mauvaise foi
would have been an exceptional piece of film drama.
Occasionally, Zem overcomes his crippling timidity and slips in a few
politically incorrect asides, but these are disappointingly few and far
between and the film could have benefited from a few more excursions
into naughty irreverence, if only to drive home the absurdity of racial
intolerance.
Mauvaise foi
is a film that is unlikely to offend anyone, but it would undoubtedly
have had much greater impact if its writer-director had been willing to
take a few more risks. As it is, the film is disappointingly tame
and anodyne, although it still manages to get across its central point,
which is that we should never give in to racial prejudice. Life is just too short.
© James Travers 2012
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Next Roschdy Zem film:
Omar m'a tuer (2011)
Film Synopsis
Clara and Ismaël are a happy couple, and when Clara discovers she
is pregnant they are overjoyed. But their elation is
short-lived. Just how are they going to break the news to their
parents? Clara is a Jew. Ismaël is a Moslem. Their
parents do not even know that they are in a relationship. Just
how will they react when they discover Clara is expecting a baby...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.