Anatomy of a fall by Justine Triet comes out this Friday on Chinese screens. A film which sparked numerous comments on social networks following its preview, with numerous discussions on the place of women and the female gaze in cinema.
From our correspondent in Beijing and Xi Xiangyuan from the RFI office in Beijing
As in the theater or before the plenary sessions of the Congresses of the Chinese Communist Party, the bell rings before the projections on the big screen in Beida. The campus of the prestigious Beijing University has 48,000 students. In front of the entrance to the “centenary conference room”, a large three-dimensional cardboard presents the decor ofAnatomy of a fall : the Savoyard chalet and the characters from the film, in front of whom the public comes to take a selfie.
“ Of course we expect this kind of film and French films in general, says Jiang Fengyuhuo. That’s where cinema was invented, isn’t it? ? And then you have the Cannes Film Festival where we all dream of going, continues this cinema graduate who knows Godard, Chabrol and Carax like the back of his hand. I’m really looking forward to seeing Anatomy of a fall who won the Palme d’Or and above all to interact with the director ».
Scalpel camera
The session for Anatomy of a fall (translated into Judgment of a fall in Mandarin, 坠落的审判) will begin soon. At the entrance, you jostle to collect your ticket and a reduced reproduction of the film poster. The ground floor and balconies of the university’s huge conference room are packed. The spectators snatched up the 2,000 seats. “Everything was sold in a few hours », says a member of staff at reception.
During the screening, the room laughed out loud, particularly during the sequences between the dog in the film and Daniel, the blind child. “ The dog is the inverted mirror of Daniel, Justine Triet would later explain during the press conference. He is the one who sees and does not speak, while Daniel speaks and does not see “. “ In this film, the sound is almost as important as the image », Notes a student who has already seen him twice in class. Long applause over the end credits, then more selfies at the entrance under a big number: “280”. The number recalls the box full ofAnatomy of a fallwhich won 280 awards including the Palme d’Or and an Oscar.
For those who have not yet seen the film: the fall is that of Samuel, a broken down writer, dead in the snow at the foot of his chalet. And anatomy is the process that dissects the life of a couple. Is it a suicide or a murder committed by his wife Sandra, a successful writer? “ I love the way the director tells this story », June enthuses. After the pen camera, the scalpel camera of Justine Triet: “ For me it’s like a surgical operation, continues this English teacher. It’s very precise, the director is like a surgeon. She uses a knife, or rather the camera is her knife with which she cuts up a family. You can see everything inside this family. This film is fabulous! »
Reinventing the codes
We don’t know what June and the others saw in this Franco-German couple who spoke to each other in English. The characteristic of the thriller is also to let the spectators take ownership of the story and its interpretation. “ I am very happy to be here, says the director into the microphone, who is making her first visit to China and wonders how the Chinese public will interpret her film. The French think Sandra is innocent, the Americans believe she is guilty, and you? » she says to the spectators. “ It’s the first film that touches people so much. Some tell me they feel like I put cameras in their living room, in their kitchen, in their bedroom. It is therefore very intimate and in all the countries where the film has been shown, there is a very strong positioning around the character of Sandra “.
Enthusiasm for the work, but disappointment during the debate which followed the screening. On stage, the host and a professor invited to debate launch into long tirades far from the subject, or try to hide gender differences under the guise of harmony, Buddhism and “Asian values”. Due to lack of time, there are few questions in the room, but the hands that spring up come back to what is not always harmonious: couples’ relationships, family life, in a country where the cost of living and educationas well as the weight of certain traditions family has caused the number of births and marriages to fall.
“ All generations have reinvented the codes of the couple and the familysays the director. Today, young women in their 20s have a different way of behaving. I’m surrounded by lots of people in France who tell me, I’m not sure I want to have a family. In any case, it is impossible today to accept the codes without questioning them. »
Network Discussions
Smiles in the eyes of many spectators, then the director answers a question about language in a film where English serves as a bridge for the Franco-German couple. Justine Triet describes language as “ mask » or like “ filtered » for the character of Sandra. “ More generally, the language embodies the subject of the film and the difficulty in communicating and understanding each other, insists the director. »
On several occasions during the exchange, spectators insulted the host, asking him to shut up to let the guest and the other debater of the evening, a female professor renowned for her feminist commitments, speak. This frustration will immediately be found on social networks. The preview of Anatomy of a Fall appeared the next day in the top of the most commented topics on the Weibo network. The debate on sexism then resumed in a more virulent manner.
“ Last night was a vivid illustration of how men are strategically undermining feminist issueswrites an Internet user whose post will be liked more than 35,000 times. First, they use sophisticated language to circumvent the gender issue. Then, they oppose hollow values blocking the discussion. The objective being to prevent any feminist reflection and to make women invisible. »
A reaction probably exaggerated, but a cry from the heart appreciated in particular by young spectators in a China where feminists have little right to speak and where the leaders of the MeToo movement are mostly in exile.
Roles for women by women
To put an end to the controversy, the following conferences in which Justine Triet participates are much more feminine. In particular this very shared meeting with documentary filmmaker Lina Yang and actress Qi Xi, who campaigns for more women’s roles written by womenin theater and cinema.
Anatomy of a release: this Friday, Justine Triet’s film ranked third at the box office. The controversy boosted pre-sales, explains this feminist who wished to remain anonymous: “ There was this incident at the premiere that continued to escalate and people who weren’t necessarily interested in the film initially became curious. They also wanted to see the film. Of course, all these gender comments are exaggerated. Actually, we didn’t need such a chaotic situation, but it’s a very good film. It reminds me of Scenes from married life by Ingmar Bergman or Bergman Island of Mia Hansen–Løve who try to deepen the complexity of intimate relationships and imbalances, including among the filmmakers themselves. On this level, Anatomy of a fall proposes some advances and I hope it will make those who see it think. It’s important for men and women to have serious discussions about family issues and intimate relationships. It’s very important in China. »
A film that opens up to debate and reflection. Anatomy of a fall is also the first Palme d’Or projected on Chinese screens in six years, since “Family Affair” by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-Eda.
Also listenReport to be found in the program Tous les cinémas du monde