Mounir grew up with Andre after the older man helped him move to Belgium from Morocco. Now Mounir is in love with Murielle; after asking for her hand in marriage they all live together at Andre’s house. This powerful and disturbing movie, verging on an antique tragedy, was presented this year in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes IFF.
André once helped a young Moroccan boy relocate to Belgium, and brought him up as his own son. Now an adult, Mounir is in love with Murielle; he asks her to marry him, and she moves into André’s house to live with Mounir. However, their financial needs spiral and their material dependence on him becomes too great, particularly after the birth of their four children. Yet André’s generosity, kindness and strength gradually build an invisible wall around the young couple which starts to feel like a prison, especially for Murielle. How difficult is it to break free from someone who has given us everything, someone who has become our protector, mentor and guide? This is a difficult question to answer which, in this intimate, powerful and unsettling film, leads to an inevitable family tragedy. The director doesn’t focus on ideas, but on the characters of a drama reminiscent of a classical tragedy. The film’s protagonists truly come to life in the hands of a superb ensemble – Niels Arestrup, Émilie Dequenne, and Tahar Rahim, whom Jacques Audiard cast in the lead in The Prophet.
111 min / Color, DCP
Director Joachim Lafosse
/ Screenplay Joachim Lafosse, Matthieu Reynaert, Thomas Bidegain
/ Dir. of Photography Jean-François Hensgens
/ Editor Sophie Vercruysse
/ Producer Jacques-Henri Bronckart, Olivier Bronckart, Jani Thiltges, Sylvie Pialat, Thierry Spicher
/ Production Versus Productions
/ Cast Niels Arestrup, Tahar Rahim, Émilie Dequenne
/ Contact Les Films du Losange
Joachim Lafosse (b. 1975, Uccle, Belgium) studied film direction at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IDA) in Louvain-La-Neuve during the years 1997-2001. His short graduation film Tribu won many awards, among them Best Short at the International Festival of French-Speaking Film in Namur in 2001. He wrote several scripts and stage plays, and was assistant to various film directors (Paul Willems, Eric Durney, Jean Louvet). In 2004 he shot his feature debut Private Madness (Folie privée), which was followed by Ça rend heureux (2006), inspired by his own experiences trying to fund his own films. His next film Private Property (Nue propriété) was screened in competition at Venice in 2006, and he shot Private Lessons (Élève libre) in 2010. His most recent film, Our Children, was screened in the section Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes IFF.
Les Films du Losange
7/9 rue des Petites Écuries, 750 10, Paris
France
Phone: +33 144 438 710
E-mail: [email protected]
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