La Chute des hommes (2016) Directed by Cheyenne Carron
Drama
Film Review
The resolutely independent filmmaker Cheyenne Carron is used to dealing with
controversial but pertinent subjects that deserve far more attention than
they currently receive, but in her latest film - La Chute des hommes
- she takes us into highly contentious territory. The nature of radicalisation
and Jihadism, the top two buzzwords of our era, is examined in this realist
drama which raises far more questions than it answers, not that Carron had
intended to venture any concrete answers. The film's masterstroke is
to approach the issue from three very different points of view - that of a
naive westerner (a Parisian obsessed with perfume), a Middle East intermediary
(a taxi driver concerned only with his family's survival) and a committed
Jihadist (a converted Frenchman). The film cannot be faulted on its
structure or sincerity but it struggles to come to grips with the complexities
of its subject and feels too simplistic and Manichean to take seriously.
It's a film that, crudely made with minimal resources and running to well
over two hours, outstays its welcome by some margin, but its intent is laudable
enough. Whilst it may not live up to our expectations, La Chute
des hommes is an interesting piece that provokes further thought and
hopefully will inspire other filmmakers to probe more deeply into the causes
and consequences of radicalisation, one of the most serious concerns of our
time.
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Film Synopsis
The daughter of a French atheist and orthodox Russian Christian, Lucie is
a young woman with a passion for perfumery. This leads her to undertake
a study trip in the Middle East, where she is looking forward to making contact
with an unfamiliar civilisation. Unluckily for Lucie, she gets into
a taxi driven by Younes, who, for the love of his wife and son, is forced
into handing her over to some Islamic extremists. Whilst she is being
kept a hostage, Lucie gets to know Abou, a Frenchman who converted to Isalm
and is now ready to lay down his life for Islamic State...
Franz Kafka's letters to his fiancée Felice Bauer not only reveal a soul in torment; they also give us a harrowing self-portrait of a man appalled by his own existence.
From Jean Renoir to François Truffaut, French cinema has no shortage of truly great filmmakers, each bringing a unique approach to the art of filmmaking.