Variety Critics’ Choice 2015 / Vincent n’a pas d’écailles / France 2014
At first glance this directorial debut seems like just another flick about invincible, fear-inducing superheroes. But the friendly and unassuming Vincent can only display his superpowers in water. For once, the notion that we needn’t fear what makes us distinctive is not buried under Everests of bombast and effects that lose sight of why such themes matter.
Given the surfeit of superhero movies, it comes as a very pleasant surprise to see a low-budget indie taking an unassuming guy with special powers and playing it with a minimum of razzmatazz. In his debut feature, director-performer Thomas Salvador completely upends the genre, crafting a film as self-effacing as its title character, in which a man gains inhuman strength when he comes in contact with water. Although such movies nearly always carry messages about not fearing what makes us distinctive, big-budget tentpoles tend to bury the characters’ humanity under Everests of bombast, losing sight of why such themes matter. Instead, Vincent makes this idea its central motif: Here’s a guy who’s not out to prove anything, yet by virtue of his gifts, he becomes a target of fear. Impressive shots of his dolphin-like swimming represent basically the sole nod to effects.
Jay Weissberg
78 min / Color, DCP
Director Thomas Salvador
/ Screenplay Thomas Salvador
/ Dir. of Photography Alexis Kavyrchine
/ Editor Guillaume Saignol
/ Art Director Samantha Mugnier
/ Producer Julie Salvador
/ Production Christmas In July
/ Cast Thomas Salvador, Vimala Pons, Youssef Hajdi
/ Sales Le Pacte
Thomas Salvador (b. 1973, Paris) is a French actor, screenwriter, director, and multifaceted performer. He works concurrently in several studios teaching high school and university students how to work in video. He debuted in 2000 and since then he has shot four shorts; he also appeared in and wrote the original script for a documentary. His main interests are mountaineering and acrobatics. A documentary entitled On the Way (Dans la voie, 2004), shot for Arte TV channel’s “Portraits” series, focuses on high mountain guide Patrick Berhault and his work. In his feature debut Vincent, he plays the lead: a diffident character with the powers of a superman.
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Thomas Salvador
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