The scenario may seem far-fetched at first sight. What ? A poor young girl, crazy about classical music, to the point of eating it at night and dreaming of making a living out of it? Not to be a musician, but a conductor, a stronghold, as we know, super-masculine? Is it even believable?
Not only is it, but this deliciously woke story, dare we say it, is mostly true, which makes it all the more interesting. French director Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar offers here a biographical drama that tells the true and improbable journey of Zahia Ziouani, a gifted and passionate young girl who founded the Divertimento symphony orchestra in Stains, in the suburbs of Paris, in 1998.
A course not without pitfalls, of course. We go after a little too much on this young girl, brilliantly interpreted by Oulaya Amamra (revealed in divine, in 2017, which won her the César for best female hope, whose visceral passion for music shines through on the screen), coming from nowhere, who has all the faults that are: she is a girl, as we have said, she is of Algerian origin, and not exactly wealthy. The duality (man-woman, city-suburb, rich-poor) is also underlined in broad strokes, bordering on caricature at times, without plunging into it frankly, thank God.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AXIA FILMS
Entertainmenta biographical drama by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, hits theaters July 21 in Quebec.
“Not a woman’s job”
“Being a chef is not a woman’s job,” she repeats to herself. Not to mention the insults thrown at him from the outset by his Parisian colleagues, rather cows, although a bit forced, and not always clear for the spectators across France that we are, it should be noted (in particular the allusion to 93, the postal code of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis).
But now his efforts will bear fruit, and not just a little. Because surprise: everyone ends up (a bit quickly, no doubt we would have liked to better understand how the charm operates) by rallying to her, starting with the great maestro who takes her under his wing (played here by Niels Arestrup, as fair as he is ruthless).
A word about her father, a music lover, to whom Zahia owes so much, played with great tenderness by Zinedine Soualem, and especially her sister, played by Lina El Arabi, an actress who plays the violin in life and who carries the cello bow brilliantly here.
You don’t have to be a fan of classical music to appreciate this unique story, with the air of an allegorical fable. Because even if many choruses effectively lull the viewer throughout (Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Schubert, and we challenge you not to tap your feet at times), the story takes us beyond the music scene, to address major universal themes: dreams, solidarity, sisterhood. And above all: perseverance.
No, music cannot change the world, but its practice can certainly change people, this amazing Zahia firmly believes. And an inspiring story like this too.
Indoors
Biographical drama
Entertainment
Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
With Oulaya Amamra, Lina El Arabi, Niels Arestrup
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