Directed by:
Arnaud DesplechinCinematography:
Irina LubtchanskyComposer:
Grégoire HetzelCast:
Marion Cotillard, Melvil Poupaud, Patrick Timsit, Golshifteh Farahani, Cosmina Stratan, Max Baissette de Malglaive, Benjamin Siksou, Francis Leplay (more)Plots(1)
Roubaix, France. Alice (Marion Cotillard) is a famous stage actress, who graces billboards and fills theatres with adoring fans. One of her younger brothers Louis (Melvil Poupaud) found early success as an author, but after losing his young son in tragic circumstances, has retreated from the city with his wife Faunia (Golshifteh Farahani) for the remote Pyrenees to write, filling his prose with family secrets to his sister's chagrin. For more than twenty years, the two have gone out of their way to avoid each other. But when their elderly parents are involved in an accident, Alice and Louis can no longer put off the inevitable... A resounding critical success in France in late 2022, Desplechin’s film - his seventh to premiere in Official Competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival - convincingly tackles the dynamics of family ties and rivalries, exploring pride, jealousy and how (perceived) slights and infringements of the past can linger beyond logical explanation. In Cotillard and Poupaud he has two actors at the very top of their game, delivering nuanced, pitch-perfect performances. (Palace Films)
(more)Reviews (1)
Louis and Alice are brother and sister, they haven't seen each other for many years, but can't avoid meeting when their parents are on their deathbeds. The emotionally charged, tense beginning lures the viewer in, making them want to get deep inside the two characters to find out what happened to them, what they did to each other that Alice hates her brother so much that she can't be in the same room with him, and the entire film stands on this mystery. Both are artists, both have strong egos, both are emotional, a little hysterical, their characters and the story itself directly invite escalated conflict, heated dialogue and cathartic explanations. Unfortunately, this does not happen and it is a great shame. In the end, the behaviour of the protagonists seems a bit illogical and unbelievable. Paradoxically, I myself wonder if we as viewers are too spoiled. We have high expectations, we demand explanations, but sometimes, as it happens in life, we don't get the explanations we want.
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