Film Review
After her promising debut feature
Sauf le respect que je vous dois
(2005) and arresting documentary about the former convict Michel Vaujour,
Ne me
libérez pas je m'en charge (2008), director Fabienne
Godet delivers a much more typically French kind of drama for her third
feature, a film that sensitively depicts a delicate romance between two
fragile and seemingly ill-matched individuals.
Une place sur la Terre (a.k.a.
A Place on Earth) is a compelling
and poignant
étude romantique
that is far more about the need for companionship than the fulfilment
of an earthy amorous desire - a love story of an altogether different
hue from what most of today's cinemagoers are used to. Boldly
understated, both in its writing and direction, it focuses more on the
deeper feelings of love, the process of establishing an emotional bond
with someone, rather than diving in and merely regailing us with the
crude mechanics of romantic passion.
Chopin's powerfully evocative music sets a suitably melancholic tone at
the start of the film, and Godet sustains this sense of inner yearning
throughout her film, assisted by two extraordinarily talented
actors. It is hard to imagine that Benoît Poelvoorde was
once only a comic actor, a weirdly anarchic personality who would keep
cropping up in either wacky auteur films like
C'est arrivé près de chez
vous (1992) or lowbrow mainstream comedies such as
Le
Boulet (2002). Now, as he nears his sixth decade, he
is held in much higher esteem. One of Belgium's most respected
dramatic film actors, he is perfectly suited to play introspective,
ambiguous characters of the kind he portrays so magnificently in
Godet's film. Here, Poelvoorde conveys so much with virtually
next to no dialogue, revealing a soul that has grown sick of life and
yet pines incessantly for human contact that will draw him from his pit
of melancholia, out into the sunlight.
Ariane Labed, a comparative newcomer to cinema, is admirably cast as
Poelvoorde's improbable redeemer. Not only does she provide a
sunny contrast to his gloomy persona, but she also mirrors his profound
sense of inner suffering. Antoine and Elena may look as if they
have nothing in common (the age difference is painfully noticeable),
yet, through Labed and Poelvoorde's subtly expressive performances, we
quickly realise that they are ideal soul mates, both afflicted with the
same malaise for living that prevents them from even imagining that
they can ever be happy. Through Chopin's inexpressibly beautiful
music, they form an immediate bond and at no point do we doubt the
reality of the spiritual renewal that ensues, so authentic and richly
nuanced are the performances. Despite an unedifying
smattering of clichés in its second half and a slightly botched
ending,
Une place sur la Terre manages to be an intensely
moving piece of drama, revealing in Fabienne Godet a director of
considerable promise and compassion.
© James Travers 2013
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Film Synopsis
Antoine is a jaded 40-something photographer who has become disillusioned
with life. He finds living by himself ever more difficult, and this
is probably why he shows such a keen interest in his next-door neighbour's
son Matéo. With his mother so frequently away from home, the
little boy is grateful for the company, and Antoine keeps them both amused
by his colourful reinterpretations of children's fairytales. Matéo
can have no idea how unhappy his friend is - to him, Antoine is the most
cheerful and amiable of souls.
One morning, the distant sound of a piano being played breaks through Antoine's
miserable ruminations. It is the most stirring sound the photographer
has ever heard and accords perfectly with his present state of bitter melancholia.
The music is coming from the building opposite. The piano player turns
out to be an attractive young student named Elena, who has her own reasons
to be unhappy with life. Little does Antoine know the profound impact
this young woman is about to have on his life...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.