French film ‘Douches Froides’ (Cold Showers) the debut direction of Antony Cordier tackling the trauma of adolescence will be screened at 3 pm on June 8 and at 6.30 pm on June 9 at the Alliance Francaise, Colombo-7.
Mikael is an ordinary 17-year old lad from a typical French working class family. With his father unemployed, his mother has become the family breadwinner, but she earns barely enough to make ends meet. Although life is hard for Mikael, he is well-adjusted and optimistic about the future. Outside school, he divides his time between Vanessa, his girlfriend, and judo, the sport at which he excels. But, just a few weeks before the exams that will determine his future course in life, his world starts to fall apart.
What upsets his equilibrium is the arrival of Clément, the spoiled son of a wealthy businessman.Under Mikael’s tutelage, Clément becomes a better judo player than he is and soon takes his place in his team. Whilst training for a place in a lower weight championship team, Mikael finds his health deteriorate as he struggles to lose weight. Meanwhile, he notices that Clément is attracted to Vanessa…
The film which takes on social realism has a gentle poetic edge and it’s interesting that the story told by the director is about an ordinary teenager who is about to have all his dreams and illusions shattered, is warm and engaging, and not the familiar juvenile rant against the injustices of the world.
While possibly too ambiguous for some viewers, the film is nevertheless an engaging portrait, and is particularly worthwhile for the extremely strong performances from the attractive cast. The two male leads fit their roles perfectly, and Salomé Stévenin, as Vanessa, plays the sensuous free spirit with a captivating elegance. |
E-mail
