06/09/2005

Mission brilliantly accomplished behind the camera for French actor Eric Caravaca who made Le Passager [+see also:
trailer
film profile] his well-received first feature, in the Venice Critics’ Week. Playing the protagonist in his film alongside Julie Depardieu and the promising Vincent Rottiers, the new filmmaker, at 35, delivers a sombre and realistic work, stamped with an exploratory emotional style that is very close to that of Patrice Chéreau who introduced him to a wide public with Son Frère (2003). Adaptation of a novel by Arnaud Catherine (La route de Midland) who co-wrote the adaptation with the director and Laurent Perreau, Le Passager analyses with acuity the impact of a suicide on the dead man’s entourage : the past returns to the surface, the grievances blend with love in an introverted mix, and the future looks bleak while these old scores are being settled.

Following Thomas (Eric Caravaca), a thirty year old who has just become a father, the film opens with the heart-rending cry of a child, then a visit to the morgue, where lies the body of his young brother Richard with whom he had lost contact and has now lost forever. Returning to the little seaside town where he grew up, Thomas sells the family house and installs himself in a hotel run by a woman (Julie Depardieu) and her adopted son, an adolescent (Vincent Rottiers), the latter loved his brother until he ran away. But Thomas tells them nothing of who he is, makes no mention of the death of Richard, listens to their confidences without giving up any personal information. A demeanour nourished by love and hate for this phantom brother which will be explained by a secret from the past. Very controlled in its framing with a light that examines the faces in the darkness (photography by Céline Bozon) and natural sets which reinforce the sense of emotional isolation in which the characters live, Le Passager distinguishes itself too by the quality of its performances, including the secondary roles such as Maurice Garrel and Nathalie Richard.

Produced by Michel Saint-Jean for the company Diaphana (who will also distribute in France), the first feature by Eric Caravaca had a budget of 1,27 million euros, including 420 000 euros of Advance on Receipts from National Film Centre, 450 000 euros from Arte France Cinéma and aid from the Paca region. International sales are handled by Celluloïd Dreams.

(Translated from French)