 |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
|
archive |
about
us |
links |
contact |
current | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Regus London Film Festival 2002 |
Le
Fils |
|
Alan Docherty |
|
|
As the story behind Le Fils slowly and enigmatically unfolds we discover how Olivier (Olivier Gourmet, who won Best Actor at Cannes for the role) struggles with his sense of anger and revenge. At first, Olivier rarely leaves the camera's close and unflattering gaze, his behaviour inexplicable. The confusion is deliberate as viewers experience the same disorientation as Olivier until, gradually, the cause of his strange behaviour becomes clear. Le Fils is a quasi Dogme 95 film and although the Dardenne brothers have not adopted the Dogme 95 'Vow of Chastity' in it's entirety Le Fils is a stark and powerful contrast to mainstream film-making. Le Fils is an experience in cinematic realism; it is without a soundtrack, most of the film seems to be shot from an unsteady steadicam, a large part is set in a noisy carpentry workshop. The film is an audacious attempt to portray an ordinary man dealing with extraordinary emotions. To reveal the plot would undermine the pleasure of this simple but nevertheless remarkable film. Olivier Gourmet's remarkable performance certainly makes Le Fils watchable, but so does the powerfully human story which he is involved. Instead of relying on sex, violence, special effects and stunts, Le Fils captivates with its simple ambition. Olivier's struggle is never belittled by high production values, nor is it sensationalised by lazy screenwriting. Le Fils is a powerful example in the effectiveness of storytelling and human performance. In an age of superficial and transient experiences, Le Fils strives to reach a touching conclusion which is as against the mainstream as the style in which it is made.
|
|