07/08/2023 - Hugues Hariche’s debut feature depicts the monotonous yet turbulent lives of a group of teens trying to emancipate themselves from adults who no longer understand them

French-Swiss author and director Hugues Hariche who now lives in the USA has directed various short films (Les liens du sang, Flow and Metropolis) which have been selected and have scooped prizes in a variety of international festivals, and is now presenting his first feature film Rivière [+see also:
trailer
interview: Hugues Hariche
film profile] in the Locarno Film Festival’s Cineasti del Presente competition. Interested first and foremost in the body as a mean to explore and construct identities, Hugues Harache invites us to enter into the private sphere of a group of teenagers who are trying to rebel against the adult world. A teen with a tricky past who’s trying to find herself outside of social conventions, Manon (Flavie Delangle) is the leader of this pack of wolves. Bodies are central to each and every scene in the film, still uncertain and changing bodies which are constantly put to the test, maltreated and manhandled, as if indestructible. Consequences are unimportant here, what matters are the burning emotions inherent to adolescence.

A 17-year-old on the run from a foster family which she doesn’t see as her own, Manon flees Switzerland to find her father who left her when she was small. The protagonist of Rivière isn’t only trying to escape a challenging educational context, she’s also running away from a cruel past which she’s desperate to leave behind her. Determined to turn her painful past into a distant memory, Manon gradually forms new emotional and sentimental bonds, transposing the path she’d already mapped out on the ice rink. Indeed, her dream is to become a professional hockey player, defying and breaking down the stereotypes which heteropatriarchal society ascribes to so-called “femininity”: namely weakness, the need for protection, and nigh-on non-existent physical strength. Manon is unique and she has no intention of being judged on the basis of the gender she was assigned at birth.

Manon’s story is both personal and universal, intimate and generational. In this sense, our heroine becomes the spokesperson of an entire generation who are battling to impose their own identities and uniqueness in a world which seems to offer everything while guaranteeing nothing. Fighting for her dreams becomes a daily reality for Manon, a mantra which helps her to keep her inner demons under control. How do you strike a semblance of balance when the past doesn’t let up and when the brutal nature of memories seems to undermine every little victory in day-to-day life?

Her sporting talents and her unwavering passion for hockey have led her to spend time in a predominantly male environment where she can vent the rage burning like a fire inside of her. Manon has no intention of adapting herself to social norms and giving up a sport she loves but which is considered too violent for “women”. In fact, her struggle doesn’t only revolve around sporting excellence, it’s also about her need to impose her unconventional identity.

Despite an excessive number of parallel stories which could have formed the basis of a whole other film - namely the painkiller addiction which her rebellious skater friend Karine, played by Sarah Bramms, wrestles with, and the film’s far too obvious ending - Manon’s battles are deeply touching. The relationship which develops between the protagonist and her father’s new partner (Camille Rutherford), who manages to convey a sense of solidarity without delivering any grand speeches, is especially interesting in this sense.

The strength of Rivière is that Hugues Harache doesn’t look to judge Manon or her new fellow adventurers. Instead, he seeks to convey their poignant contradictions, their clumsy and instinctive relationships, and the lightness of every moment typical to adolescence.

Rivière is produced by Beauvoir Films in co-production with Les Films d’Argile and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, and is sold worldwide by Outplay Films.

(Translated from Italian)