The parade of stars from France continues at the Berlinale in Germany. After François Ozon’s opening film, the Berlin International Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for Claire Denis’ feature film, With love and determinationalso in the running for the Golden Bear.
From our special correspondent in Berlin,
With love and determination starts without any warning. We are at the edge of the sea. The sun transforms the sand under the water into a moving paradise. Vincent Lindon delicately holds Juliette Binoche in his arms. She lets go. He smiles. They are kissing. We are embarrassed.
Is it a postcard, a video clip to promote a journey to happiness? Until then, we don’t know anything about their lives, even their names. The viewer only sees star Juliette Binoche and multi-award-winning actor Vincent Lindon, not yet Sara and Jean. It will take time to get into the story, it seems obvious.
But no. With a marvelous slow motion of a metro entering a tunnel and a sublime traveling shot over the gray rooftops of Paris, the cinematographic genius of Claire Denis transports us in one minute to the heart of this story of a perfect couple who ignore their weak point.
How to “thwart the clichés”?
With love and determination is an adaptation of the novel A turning point in life, by Christine Angot. The successful writer also co-wrote the screenplay during confinement with Claire Denis. Surprisingly, the narrative, while displaying its ambition to ” outsmart the clichés », turns out to be very politically correct and full of fairly conventional roles, like the female characters steeped in empathy and compassion.
Bulle Ogier plays Nelly, a courageous grandmother raising her Métis grandson alone. Mati Diop gives life to Gabrielle, a pharmacist of African origin full of wisdom. And even the role of Sara (Juliette Binoche), who betrays her man and blows up their ten wonderful years of life as a couple, remains magnified by her beauty, her desire to flourish and get rid of her inner blockages.
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On the male side, on the contrary, the characters lean towards failure. Vincent Lindon gives birth to Jean, the virile man who likes the do-it-yourself section of the supermarket and drives out in his adored Mercedes to find good prices at the service station. But, first and foremost, there remains the former convict who still flirts with violence. On the other hand, we do not know precisely “the stupidity” he committed, while deploying the extent of his failure vis-à-vis the relationship with his Martinican ex-wife and the education of their mixed-race son, Marcus, 15 years old. Defined only by his origin, the latter, played by Issa Perica (known for Wretched), has the feeling of being naturally doomed to be totally lost and disoriented, both in school and in life.
Without forgetting the role of François (Grégoire Colin), Sara’s former great love and once a great friend of François who, after ten years of absence, enters their lives by chance. He is the smiling man who steps on the toes of others, finding it normal to take possession of the once madly loved woman and thus destroy both a couple and a man.
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Cinematographic caresses through the grains of the image
Nevertheless, within the perimeter of their roles carved out by the script, Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon excel in their interpretations. They merge, carnally, with the camera. Claire Denis connects very large shots in the dark to clarify the inner life of Sara, Jean, and the couple. Each grain of the image seems to caress the two bodies to bring out an infinity of emotions.
This overflow of feelings risks turning into a closing trap, tipping love towards hate in a fraction of a second. ” When you have loved someone, this feeling never completely disappears. Indeed, it is more difficult to erase the past of a man or a woman than the memory of a smartphone.
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