Wild Foxes [+lee también:
entrevista: Valéry Carnoy
ficha de la película], which had its world premiere in the 78th Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight, paints an edgy, graceful portrait of a young boy on the move, as he makes the transition from adolescence to adulthood during a period forced by an accident that leaves more than just physical scars. In this highly personal first film, Valéry Carnoy continues his exploration of the masculine relationship to the body and to violence, the way in which injunctions to virility can shape destinies, and the cost to be paid by those who try to escape them. These questions were already at the heart of his short film, Titan, which looked at 14-year-old boys. Wild Foxes takes us into the heart of a sports-study boarding school, among the boxing clan.

Camille (Samuel Kircher) is the French junior English boxing champion. His title has made him a household name, and he is the idol of the group, especially Matteo (Faycal Anaflous), his best friend and first fan. The two boys share boxing, the fabric from which their friendship is woven, but also what remains of their childhood, a complicity, and a ritual, that of feeding the foxes in the woods surrounding the school, to better observe their ballet. During one of these expeditions, Camille puts himself in danger, but is saved by Matteo. This accident, which should have strengthened their bond, ends up distorting it. After the injury, Camille is never the same. His relationship with his body, with violence and suffering, changes. Within the group, his aura cracks and his place is called into question. Although he is said to be cured, he is experiencing pain that we call phantom pain. So we ask ourselves: could this pain be as much existential as physical?

During this time of crisis, suspended behind closed doors outside the world of adults, Camille struggles and crosses over, as if this physical impediment had opened a door for him to pass through to the other side of the mirror. Restrained by his body, he gradually realises that boxing is not necessarily the place where he wants to express himself. But there's more to this break-up than meets the eye, and it's about to take a sentimental turn. Breaking up with boxing also means breaking up with an image of himself, and breaking up with Matteo and their friendship. In this sense, Wild Foxes is a coming-of-age or apprenticeship story, which Valéry Carnoy revisits as closely as possible to his hero, drawing us into his breath, following him, and into the absoluteness of his present. Camille is played by a highly inspired Samuel Kircher, whose performance in Last Summer was eagerly awaited. Faycal Anaflous, a first-time actor who plays Matteo, turns out to be magnetic, and the whole of the young cast shines with its naturalness and presence. A fluid, spirited first film about the power of first friendships, which uses the pugnacity and resilience of the body to convey feelings.

Wild Foxes was produced by Hélicotronc (Belgium), who supports Valéry Carnoy since Titan, and co-produced by Les Films du Poisson (France). The Party Film Sales is handling international sales.