Victor's History (2017) User Reviews

A slow ride to nowhere

[j-nickturner · 2/10 · 5 April 2020]

So I'm all for a slow burning story. But this wasn't a slow burn. It was just an empty story with no pay off. The "climax" should've happened by the halfway point of the movie and built the story more from there.

I'd give it 1 star but it was well acted and the filming was actually pretty good... So I guess it gets an extra star for effort... It had potential to be thought-provoking, compelling, creepy, thrilling, and so much more. I even think the idea for the premise was pretty smart! But all that potential was squandered in its execution. This should've been a short film, not feature length. Honestly though, even trimming out a lot of padding and fat, I just think this was kind of half-baked and needed to be fleshed out into something with more depth and definitely more story.

Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing and unsatisfying movies I've seen in a long time.

History and the keeping up of appearances

[Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi · 8/10 · 14 June 2023]

VICTOR'S HISTORY tells the story of a young frenchman named Victor who hires a 2-man documentary crew consisting of Vietnamese-African-American Dorian and Indian Zuhair to make a movie about the legacy of his father, something he takes great pride in. However, as the group delves deeper into his father's history, it turns out that he may not have been such a great man.

The movie is shot in the found-footage format and has very little in terms of technical frills (there are some nice nature shots, though). On the other hand, the dialogue is some of the most intelligent I have heard in any found footage movie. This is a lot like a thinking person's detective story, where the conclusion does not just solve the mystery, but reveals uncomfortable truths about all three characters.

Victor in some ways represents those aspects of the colonial history of France that it has still not properly dealt with or is in denial about. Dorian represents the America-centered history of slavery which tends to overlook-whether on purpose or not-the suffering of oppressed people elsewhere and as a result may help perpetuate its own kind of exploitation. Zuhair represents in a way the opposite: the loss of concern for the history of suffering of the victims of colonialism in India, which sets him up to be taken advantage of by both of the two other characters.

Ironically, the only history that isn't alluded to in the movie is Victor's: it properly begins right at the conclusion, as indicated by the final chapter card. I suspect that the protagonist's name choice was not arbitrary because the finale very much brings to mind the old saying: "History is written by the victor".

This is a movie that very much appeals to the intellect. Action fans or those who expect a fast-paced film will probably not like this. But if you are a fan of history and thoughtful movies, then you just may.