(Thomas
Cailley/2014/France)
What
starts as a fairly typical boy meets girl scenario gradually evolves
into something a lot more interesting and downright quirky in this
directorial debut from Thomas Cailley. Set against a summer heat wave
in the countryside of Northern France Arnaud and Madeleine meet,
antagonise each other and eventually recognise a mutual attraction
before setting off on a shared adventure which solidifies their
respect for each other. It’s great to see Adèle Haenel (Madeleine)
again after her excellent performance in Céline Sciamma’s Water
Lillies(2007) and Kévin Asaïs (Arnaud)acts as an equally intense
foil for her here. It is a comedy of sorts as the pair don’t quite
gel and find themselves slightly off key with each other which leads
to humorous moments but what marks this out from other romantic
narratives is exactly that “off keyness”. The story is allowed
develop at a pace as languid as the heat of the summer it’s set in
and the couple patiently map out each other’s quirks and foibles
before allowing the obvious physical attraction to take over. The
subtext of environmental disaster, apocalyptic fore warnings and
survival training just add to the mix of this very accomplished and
idiosyncratic love story.
(3.5/5)
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