Film Review
This is a remarkable first film from Belgian director Pierre-Paul Renders, startlingly
original in both its concept and its realisation, and so relevant to contemporary society
(ironically more so now than when it was first released). The film is both a dark
tragicomic exploration of the torment of solitude and also a stark warning of the dangers
of living in a virtual world. It's also a rather moving love story, with a very
human dimension.
The approach that Renders uses is daringly experimental but so perfect for the story
he has to tell. It's basically an on-going conversation between Thomas and the various
characters he sees on his "visiophone" (a kind of Web-Cam). We hear Thomas talking,
but we never see him (except fleetingly in the final shot); all we see are the images
on the visiophone - which are mostly single characters speaking directly to camera.
It takes a while to get used to this unusual narrative style, but once you're in, you're
hooked. The genius of this approach is that it forces the spectator into Thomas's
world, and you do get a horrible sense of being trapped, like a chick unable to break
out of its shell.
The film paints a grim warning about where we may be heading
as a society as we all live increasing virtual lives, thanks to our ever-growing dependence
on the internet, video-conferencing, computer games, online chatrooms and the like.
We are spending less of our time in the real world, and more of our time in its virtual
alternative, Cyberspace. It's not too fanciful to suggest that within a generation
most of those living in the West will be locked in virtual cocoons like the central character
in this film. Two of our best friends - the home computer and the internet - may
well end up becoming our mortal Hell, a self-induced solitary confinement in which human
beings manage to live without any kind of physical contact, a kind of conscious non-life.
What is most appealing about
Thomas est amoureux
is the intelligence and sensitivity that has gone into both the script and the
direction. The humour has a razor sharp satirical edge, but there's also a lot of
humanity in what we see and hear. There's a real poignancy as we see Thomas struggle
against his phobia and try to reach out and make contact with another human soul, which
is all the more potent when we realise that this could be our future. With the demise
of the nuclear family, the gradual breakdown of social cohesion and our willingness to
embrace clean virtual relationships as a substitute for messy real ones, this could well
be the shape of things to come...
© James Travers 2007
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Next Pierre-Paul Renders film:
Comme tout le monde (2006)
Film Synopsis
Thomas, 32, is the victim of chronic agoraphobia and hasn't left his apartment in eight
years. His only contact with the outside world is via his visiophone, which keeps
him in touch with his mother, his therapist and his insurance agent. The one intimate
relationship he has is with a computer-generated paramour. His love life takes an
unexpected turn when his therapist gets him to join a virtual dating agency and his insurance
agent tells him that, because of his handicap, he qualifies for a special kind of home
help, in the form of a prostitute. Thomas suddenly finds he has two women
in his life: Mélodie, an aspiring video poet, and Eva, a state prostitute.
But will either of them draw Thomas out of his solitary world...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.