Opening with lingering shots of cigarette-smoking Parisians watching the Metro trundling through suburbia, this film initially appears to be an Existentialist’s wet dream. The two main protagonists, who happen to live together, follow this sequence by both buying rice boilers at the same time, hence the anticipation of some domestic hilarity/bonding/friction, caused by said incident. It’s the kind of thing that the French are renowned for but, unfortunately, this film is not a good example of it, and by the time the rice boiler took on any further significance, I had given up.
The film centres on Lionel (Alex Descas), a train-driving single parent, and his daughter, Josephine (Mati Diop), a student, who live together in an apartment in the Paris suburbs. Complicating their lives are neighbours Gabrielle, who has designs on Lionel, and Noe, who has designs on Josephine. These intertwining relationships come to a head when the foursome head to a concert.
The film is given an air of realism by the long, static takes employed by the director (Claire Denis), mainly of the actor’s smoking, eating, or taking a shower. Yet, given this space, the actors failed to engage me, and lacked the presence that was required in a film that relies so heavily on what they do with their screen time. In defence, they weren’t served well by the script, which lacked charm and gave little scope for the characters to develop.
The metaphor of the way a train running along its tracks mirrors real life (a straight line, slightly bumpy, but always ending up at the same stop unless some incident causes it to derail) is often used and, in this instance, spoon-fed. The characters are handled more - but too - delicately and, although I’m not averse to some drifting, they had no defined role in the story. Nothing happened and the film went nowhere, which in itself could be existential, but I’d rather fill my time with something interesting.
The film centres on Lionel (Alex Descas), a train-driving single parent, and his daughter, Josephine (Mati Diop), a student, who live together in an apartment in the Paris suburbs. Complicating their lives are neighbours Gabrielle, who has designs on Lionel, and Noe, who has designs on Josephine. These intertwining relationships come to a head when the foursome head to a concert.
The film is given an air of realism by the long, static takes employed by the director (Claire Denis), mainly of the actor’s smoking, eating, or taking a shower. Yet, given this space, the actors failed to engage me, and lacked the presence that was required in a film that relies so heavily on what they do with their screen time. In defence, they weren’t served well by the script, which lacked charm and gave little scope for the characters to develop.
The metaphor of the way a train running along its tracks mirrors real life (a straight line, slightly bumpy, but always ending up at the same stop unless some incident causes it to derail) is often used and, in this instance, spoon-fed. The characters are handled more - but too - delicately and, although I’m not averse to some drifting, they had no defined role in the story. Nothing happened and the film went nowhere, which in itself could be existential, but I’d rather fill my time with something interesting.