Variety Critics’ Choice 2015 / Fidelio, l’odyssée d’Alice / France 2014
Alice’s voyage on a cargo ship populated by an all-male crew transforms into a young woman’s journey toward self-awareness, with a nod to self-confident womanhood. In no way a treatise on feminism, the film captivates with its bracing tone, unique setting, and edgy performance by its female lead.
Anchored by a courageous lead performance, this emotionally complex debut chronicles a sexually liberated sailor’s voyage of self-discovery aboard an old freighter, where she fights for respect among the randy crew – including the handsome captain, with whom she shares a romantic past – while her faithful partner anxiously awaits her return. A metaphorical mermaid, Alice seems to become a different person at sea, toughening her skin to survive for weeks at a time as the lone female assigned to a vast cargo ship. Though women are too seldom allowed to be the proactive agents of desire in other movies, Alice doesn’t exist merely to excite male characters. We experience the movie through her eyes, juggling the temptations put before her, pining for the partner she left behind and dealing with the consequences of her actions. It’s a refreshing depiction set in a truly unique setting.
Peter Debruge
95 min / Color, DCP
Director Lucie Borleteau
/ Screenplay Lucie Borleteau, Clara Bourreau
/ Dir. of Photography Simon Beaufils
/ Music Thomas De Pourquery
/ Editor Guy Lecorne
/ Art Director Sidney Dubois
/ Producer Marine Arrighi
/ Production Apsara Films, Why Not Productions
/ Coproduction Arte France Cinéma
/ Cast Ariane Labed, Melvil Poupaud, Anders Danielsen Lie
/ Sales Pyramide International
Lucie Borleteau (b. 1980) studied film prep in Nantes, taking a master’s from the Université de Paris VIII (2004). She has acted in a number of roles in film and theater, continuing in film as a producer, assistant director (on Arnaud Desplechin’s A Christmas Tale / Un conte de Noël, 2008), collaborating screenwriter (with Claire Denis on White Material, 2009), and art director. Before creating her first feature Fidelio: Alice’s Journey, nominated for the best first film César, she shot several short and medium-length movies.
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Phone: +33 142 960 220
Fax: +33 140 200 551
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Agathe Mauruc
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