La Presse at the 77th Cannes Film Festival | Seen on the Croisette

(Cannes) Every day, The Press presents films seen on the Croisette.

Me too

Cannes says Me too

There were many moved spectators at the Cinéma de la plage on Wednesday evening for the presentation of the short film. Me too by Judith Godrèche, in the presence of the director and dozens of victims of sexual violence who appear in this poetic 17-minute film. “This is the screening I dreamed of,” declared the filmmaker, spearhead of the #metoo movement in France, to the other survivors. “This film belongs to you, you know that. I am proud to be at the Cannes Festival, which anchors films in the history of cinema. I walked up the stairs and you were with me. »

Me too, which was presented simultaneously at the opening of the Un Certain Regard section, features dozens of women in particular, but also a few men, gathered in a public square in Paris. The camera slides over their faces to the sound of soothing folk music, while a young woman leads the dance and choreography. We hear murmurings, then everyone covers their mouths with their hands, as if they had been stopped from speaking.

A narrator continues short testimonies of rape and assault, often against children. The testimonies overlap as we see these victims gathered together, protecting their heads and hiding their faces, to the sound of a beating heart. The young woman dances even more beautifully, symbol of a word being released, while everyone pretends to reveal a secret before embracing.

Judith Godrèche has created a very simple work, a film of atmosphere, soft and poignant. When I left the Croisette, a lady was crying next to me. I heard her whisper during the credits: “Me too…”

Rough diamond

A discovery

For his first feature film, Rough diamondFrench filmmaker Agathe Riedinger reconnects with a character from one of her short films, made in 2017. Liane is 19 years old, with lots of character and ambition, and lives with her unemployed mother and her little sister in a small apartment in Fréjus, on the French Riviera.

Obsessed with fame, bling bling and the “likes” on social networks, she is called to audition for reality TV Miracle Island, which attracted tens of thousands of subscribers, but also derogatory comments. She gives beauty advice, does choreography on TikTok, as well as shoplifting with which she buys designer tight dresses and breast implants.

Rough diamond is both a reflection on the hypersexualization of young women and on the benefits of a post-feminism that encourages empowerment and girl power linked to the body. “I don’t need a man to protect me,” says Liane, who is being courted by a former youth center friend.

Agathe Riedinger takes a non-condescending look at the reality of aspiring influencers. On the one hand, its characters evoke criticism of reality TV, the exploitation of participants and the touted staging of conflicts around romantic relationships; and on the other, the aspirations of young women who see a way out in new careers linked to celebrity like Kim Kardashian. “Is it a talent to be loved? », asks her mother, with whom she is at loggerheads.

This story of learning between light and despair, well anchored in its time, does not necessarily stand out for its naturalistic style, but imposes a seductive atmosphere and rhythm. Rough diamond is especially worn by a very inspired young actress, Malou Khebizi, a discovery.

The girl and the needle

The Maiden and the Bitter

Magnus Van Horn, a 41-year-old Swedish filmmaker who spent half his life in Poland, teaches cinema at the prestigious Lodz School. His first feature film, The Here After, was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight in 2015; his second, Sweatshirtwas in the official selection at Cannes in 2020. Here it is in competition thanks to The girl with the needle, a film shot in Danish and inspired by a famous news story. Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), a young worker from Copenhagen who is struggling to pay her rent at the end of the First World War, becomes pregnant. She meets Dagmar, who runs an illegal adoption agency and who will change her life. Filmed in black and white, The girl with the needle struggles to make us forget its neo-Bergmanian influences – much less successful – as the film remains so mired in a miserabilist story and a direction that wallows in appropriate tones. It’s dark, it’s gloomy and it ends up boring.

The hosting costs for this report were paid by the Cannes Film Festival, which had no say in the matter.