MFFF MOVIE REVIEW: FRIENDS FROM FRANCE (LES INTERDITS)



* * * * *


Carole and Jerome, young cousins pretending to be an engaged couple on a romantic trip, arrive to Odessa, beyond the so called Iron Curtain, but not to sight seeing. They bring presents and stories to the Jewish community, people who tried to immigrate to Israel and failed. They meet good and bad people, many of them relatively happy, but all of them desperate to change their lives. When Victor, a banned physician, asks the young couple for a favour, a sense of real danger emerges. It releases sleeping passions and desires, taking the story far beyond the mission in Odessa.

FRIENDS FROM FRANCE is an atmospheric timepiece. It is a love story that pretends to be a thriller, that pretends to be a love story. You’ll know what I mean. The feeling that the plot is lost in some parts of the film evaporates by the end, when you realise that it was incredibly focused from the opening credits.

For once here is a film about Russia done right. It is not a surprise that the film is shot in Odessa, not Moscow or St. Petersburg. A scary thought, but Odessa did not change that much since 1979.

It is interesting that for its exotic setting the main focus of the film are the cousins and their strange, almost incestuous, love affair. Carolle (Soko) is an idealist full of optimism, courageous and trusting, while Jerome is a careful one. He is suspicious and is scared of every shadow.

Soko is an impressive actor. It took me a long time to understand, but she had already made a great progress since her role in last years Augustine. In FRIENDS FROM FRANCE she is building her character brick by brick, revealing  something special in the end.

The filmmakers do not take anyone’s side, showing some who is eager to escape Soviet reality as greedy and ready to do anything to get out. It also seems that most of the people who try to escape are simply looking for a better life and not freedom.

While Carolle and Jerome are absolutely free to pursue their passion, they make some strange choices as the story progresses, as if highlighting that they may not be as free as they think. Without giving any credit to the totalitarian regime, the film makes a suggestion that the real freedom is in our heads, and not some place far away.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the f...
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - t...
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema...
Read more