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C'est l'amour
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Paul
Vecchiali has often avowed that his inspiration is not intellectual, but purely
emotional – linked to strong feelings of love, hate, jealousy, desire that
circulate freely between men and women of every sexual orientation.
At
the same time, he has a taste for modernist form, expressed in an equally
direct and unselfconscious way.
C’est l’amour brings
these two sides of his work together, effortlessly. In an uncomfortably small
town, the marital dissatisfaction of Odile (Astrid Adverbe) finds, by chance,
an erotic outlet in Daniel (Pascal Cervo), a well-known, blasé actor who is
struggling with his own, gay relationship.
This
encounter creates waves for everyone in their social circle, and eventually
precipitates a sudden turn into dark drama.
Mixing
moods of comedy and tragedy with abandon; replaying certain dialogue scenes
instantly from each character’s point-of-view; inserting satirical vignettes and
figures from France’s show-business industry; boasting 3D-style credits; and
featuring a direct-to-camera introductory monologue by Vecchiali himself (who
also takes a role in the fiction) – all this expresses the filmmaker’s insolent
freedom, but contained within a tightly economic, highly logical and controlled
style.
Shot
with digital cameras (including an iPhone), and with a pop-ballad chanson score that recalls films by
Jacques Demy or Chantal Akerman, C’est
l’amour redefines personal, hand-made and home-made cinema for our time.
MORE Vecchiali: Nuits blanches sur la jetée © Adrian Martin October 2015 |
