Irish Film Institute -Les Egares

Les Egares

Director:

FRANCE| 2003. COLOUR. DOLBY DIGITAL STEREO. 95 MINUTES.


A gripping and psychologically complex wartime drama from Andre Techine. After a shattering sequence in which German bombers strafe a column of refugees making their way through the countryside in southern France, the film focuses on survivor Odile (Emmanuelle Beart), her twelve-year-old son Philippe (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet) and seven-year-old daughter Cathy (Clemence Meyer). Lost in the forest, Odile falls under the protection of Yvan (Gaspard Ulliel), a ‘wild child’ who knows how to survive in the open country. Setting up home in an abandoned house, this makeshift family are forced to relearn certain rules of domesticity and propriety, although bereavement, fear of discovery and a burgeoning sexual tension between Yvan and Odile are clearly drawn from the start, and we watch in suspense as they’re tested to the limit.
As assured as ever, Techine’s emotional precision, careful characterisation and storytelling skill guarantee an intelligent and compelling film. Bright, detailed location photography by Claire Denis’ favourite cinematographer, Agnes Godard-not to mention the presence of Beart and Ulliel-make it a highly attractive one as well.
Director Andre Techine is the subject of a short retrospective.

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