a subtle first feature film about a young woman entangled in the ashes of her childhood

THE “WORLD’S” OPINION – MUST SEE

Lille, 2008, two young sisters, party outfits and glitter on their cheeks, in a child’s bedroom with floral patterns and bright colors. The mood is joyful, carefree. They jump on the bed and burst out singing I live for herattempting to cover the voices of Andrea Bocelli and Hélène Ségara, a hairbrush and a pair of glasses as microphones. The camera clings to their expressive faces, capturing the strength of their complicity which is further reflected in the following scenes, immersed in their daily lives. An idyllic image against which Louisethe first feature film by Nicolas Keitel, will be built backwards, like a lost paradise. And if the famous hit from the 1990s, placed at the opening, also speaks of the strength of the bond, it already tells, implicitly, the heartbreak of absence, the lack of loss. Like so many little seeds of the drama to come.

Because very quickly, one evening seals the family destiny. Their mother, Catherine (Cécile de France), returns from a social dinner with her new companion. The tone rises with the reproaches against the backdrop of a crisis of jealousy. The tension is palpable. The two girls, scared, huddle together on the stairs. The staging fits their gaze. The lively exchange shifts towards threat and then physical aggression. Marion (Noémie Lemaitre Ekeloo), the eldest, tries to intervene. And ends up stabbing the attacker several times with scissors before fleeing to his father (Paul Hamy), who tells him that he has confirmation from the police of the companion’s death.

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