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VENICE 2010 Critics’ Week / France

Opposites attract in Angèle and Tony

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Angèle (Clotilde Hesme) is foul-mouthed, bold to the point of insolence and aware of her own aggressive beauty, describing herself as a weapon of seduction! Recently released from prison after a court judged her responsible for the death of her husband in an accident, she needs a man.

Is she in need of some tenderness? Of course not, she wants to get back custody of her son, currently in the care of his paternal grandparents, and a partner by her side would make a difference in the eyes of a judge. A partner like Tony (Grégory Gadebois), for example, who is the exact opposite of her: he is corpulent, prudish (“Is fuck the only word you know?”) and works as a fisherman. Tony’s father died recently, swallowed up by the sea never to return, and he lives at home with his mother.

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The first meeting between the two is pretty much a disaster. But opposites attract in the end: just as they usually do? No, because director Alix Delaporte, who won a Golden Lion for her short film How Do You Brake Going Downhill? and here makes her feature debut, avoids over-dramatisation and screenplay artifices. They get together slowly, sometimes the budding relationship breaks down (her aggressive sexual advances are seen by him as a frustrating short-cut), then it starts over again with enthusiasm , in a seesaw of emotions that the protagonists have difficulty understanding. This often happens in real life, but is rarely seen on screen.

Certainly, those who enjoy pure, raw despair will turn their noses up at this film which “contains little dialogue, is full of primary emotions and sincere feelings”, according to the director. It opens up the possibility of hope and offers an idea of community (that of the Normandy fishermen is depicted with documentary-like detail: we see their everyday work, from the casting of the nets to the fish market) that welcomes instead of excludes. But why deprive Angèle and Tony [+see also:
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’s two protagonists of the happy ending they both deserve?

Delaporte’s debut work is produced by Lionceau Films and sold internationally by Pyramide International.

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(Translated from Italian)

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