A German-born writer (Sandra HÜLLER) lives with her husband (Samuel THEIS) and son (Milo MACHADO GRANER) in a house in the French Alps. One day the man lies dead in the snow, apparently having fallen out of a window. Was it an accident? Suicide? Or even murder? More and more inconsistencies appear, so that the writer comes under increasing suspicion. And even feels compelled to call on a lawyer (Swann ARLAUD), whom she knows from before, to provide legal advice. Soon there will actually be a court hearing in nearby Grenoble, where hopefully all the uncertainties can be cleared up...
Justine TRIET offers a lot in her film, which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival: courtroom film, thriller, marital drama. However, all genre elements are essentially broken down into their components. Can the truth even be found like this? And weren't both married couples also accomplished writers or literary educators? The script that TRIET wrote together with her life partner Arthur HARARI also plays with this very cleverly. In German-speaking countries, the phenomenon of autofictional literature was only recognized with some delay. It was only the success of the Norwegian author Karl Ove KNAUSGARD that introduced German-speaking readers to a type of literature that has been very popular in France since Marguerite DURAS and Annie ERNAUX (NOBEL PRIZE for Literature 2022). Autofiction means that the author appears autobiographically in a fictional text. Actually a contradiction from which there is no escape for readers. Unless the text is received either autobiographically or fictionally. Both together don't work.
In relation to the film's plot: What does it actually mean when a couple of writers autofictionally tear each other apart in their own relationship? Are conflicts then real or are they almost acted out in order to be able to exploit them in an autofictional way? And what happens to a child who is helpless in this struggle? However, these abstract questions are interwoven into an exciting plot that can rise above such background information. But that can be crucial for winning film awards. Just think of the year 1994, when a certain Quentin TARANTINO finally used the literary option of not having to tell a plot chronologically, which had been tried and tested since the turn of the century (i.e. Since 1900!!!), in a film with perfectly normal genre elements and It also rightly received the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
A little fun fact on the side: screenwriter Arthur HARIRI has a cameo appearance in the film as a literary critic for a French television show.
But all of this should not be defamed as too calculated! Justine TRIET delivered an outstanding film. The script by her and Arthur HARARI offers pure excitement and is at the same time literary satisfying. Someone has to do that first! Basically, this can only happen about every 30 years! And then Sandra HÜLLER! What more can you say about this exceptional actress? It takes the whole thing into another league. She already has the EUROPEAN FILM AWARD, a nomination for the ACADEMY AWARD should now be inevitable!!!
P. S.: At P. I. M. P. of 50Cent on a continuous loop, I would definitely become the Hulk! ;-)
Justine TRIET offers a lot in her film, which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival: courtroom film, thriller, marital drama. However, all genre elements are essentially broken down into their components. Can the truth even be found like this? And weren't both married couples also accomplished writers or literary educators? The script that TRIET wrote together with her life partner Arthur HARARI also plays with this very cleverly. In German-speaking countries, the phenomenon of autofictional literature was only recognized with some delay. It was only the success of the Norwegian author Karl Ove KNAUSGARD that introduced German-speaking readers to a type of literature that has been very popular in France since Marguerite DURAS and Annie ERNAUX (NOBEL PRIZE for Literature 2022). Autofiction means that the author appears autobiographically in a fictional text. Actually a contradiction from which there is no escape for readers. Unless the text is received either autobiographically or fictionally. Both together don't work.
In relation to the film's plot: What does it actually mean when a couple of writers autofictionally tear each other apart in their own relationship? Are conflicts then real or are they almost acted out in order to be able to exploit them in an autofictional way? And what happens to a child who is helpless in this struggle? However, these abstract questions are interwoven into an exciting plot that can rise above such background information. But that can be crucial for winning film awards. Just think of the year 1994, when a certain Quentin TARANTINO finally used the literary option of not having to tell a plot chronologically, which had been tried and tested since the turn of the century (i.e. Since 1900!!!), in a film with perfectly normal genre elements and It also rightly received the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
A little fun fact on the side: screenwriter Arthur HARIRI has a cameo appearance in the film as a literary critic for a French television show.
But all of this should not be defamed as too calculated! Justine TRIET delivered an outstanding film. The script by her and Arthur HARARI offers pure excitement and is at the same time literary satisfying. Someone has to do that first! Basically, this can only happen about every 30 years! And then Sandra HÜLLER! What more can you say about this exceptional actress? It takes the whole thing into another league. She already has the EUROPEAN FILM AWARD, a nomination for the ACADEMY AWARD should now be inevitable!!!
P. S.: At P. I. M. P. of 50Cent on a continuous loop, I would definitely become the Hulk! ;-)