Black Fliesby Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
In a state of emergency
American production directed by French filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, Black Flies is a tense drama set in the world of paramedics in New York. Using an almost documentary approach, filming practically everything with a handheld camera, the director takes us into the harsh reality of this world by following a rookie from Colorado (Tye Sheridan), who works as a paramedic while continuing his studies in medicine. By teaming up with a veteran, played by Sean Penn, the young man, inexperienced, will of course be confronted with human misery, in all its forms, often marked by violence. In this universe where recognition is rare, verbal and physical attacks are part of the daily lives of professionals who must also comply with a very strict protocol in all circumstances. It is trash, often gloomy, but Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire nevertheless succumbs to a more optimistic outcome which, we suspect, is out of step with reality. In this feature film in the running for the Palme d’Or, the actors are excellent.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE ACACIAS
A scene from Youth (Spring), a film by Wang Bing
Youth (Spring), by Wang Bing
An eloquent illustration
Due to scheduling constraints, I was only able to see half of this 3 hour 31 minute Chinese documentary, the longest film to compete for the Palme d’Or this year. Directed by Wang Bing (dead souls), one of the leaders of its kind in the Middle Kingdom, Youth (Spring) is the first part of an ambitious trilogy devoted to teenagers and young adults who come to work in a textile factory in Zhili, a town located 150 kilometers from Shanghai. The filmmaker’s approach consists in capturing the daily life of these young people with the same aspirations as all people of the same age everywhere in the world, yet stuck in a system where they have to work tirelessly in front of their sewing machine. The premises in which they perform are as cramped as the dormitories where they pile up at night. Evolving in a context of censorship, Wang Bing thus manages to eloquently illustrate – without supporting anything – how a system can alienate a population. After All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras) in Venice and On the Adamant (Nicolas Philibert) in Berlin, will the Cannes jury award the most beautiful laurel to another documentary? It is not impossible.