“The Rapture” by Iris Kaltenbäck, a subtle chronicle of the derailment of a lovesick woman

“The Rapture” is the story of Lydia (Hafsia Herzi). It begins with a perilous race. In one hand she holds her phone and in the other a cake, the one she ordered for the birthday of her best friend, Salomé (Nina Meurisse). When she arrives at her house, her companion tells her that he has cheated on her. But there’s no question of not partying with Salomé, her“family”. During this evening, Lydia learns that her friend is expecting a happy event, a field that she knows well: she is a midwife, a midwife for ordinary mortals.

She walks alone

The stage for the first film by French filmmaker Iris Kaltenbäck, which hits theaters on October 11, is thus set. The succession of events is not trivial in the story of Milos (Alexis Manenti), the narrator of the film and Lydia’s lover. It depicts a woman devoted to her work and marked by her romantic breakup.

This separation keeps her far from the apartment she shared with her ex. At night, after the hospital, she wanders until one day she falls asleep on a bus. She will end up falling into the arms of the machinist (driver) who is none other than Milos. Their story is brief but they meet again, in the hospital where she works, while she is holding Salomé’s baby in her arms.

Inexorably, by small touches, Iris Kaltenbäck leads us towards the catastrophe announced from the first minutes of the film. Its direction points out all the warning signs that we see while ignoring them, in the hope that the worst can still be avoided. The purity of Hafsia Herzi’s performance – the camera capturing each of her expressions, each look and body movement – perfectly captures the psyche of Lydia, a character who never loses her lucidity despite her errors. The presentation of this woman’s motivations is so clear, even though it is not flaunted, that the quality of Hafsia Herzi’s acting and the imagery of Iris Kaltenbäck can only be highlighted.

Who will still love him?

Lydia will lie because she is lovesick and ultimately no one, including those close to her, really pays attention to her. She lies because she is in pain but continues to put on a good face at the hospital where all these parturients are counting on her, especially on her professionalism, so that their delivery goes well. To best reflect Lydia’s profession, Iris Kaltenbäck chose to film the reality of midwifery practice. The documentary thus skilfully rubs shoulders with fiction in the same space.

In an atmosphere where the colors are sometimes a little saturated with blue and the image is cleverly blurred, echoing Lydia’s mental chaos, The Rapture questions the priorities that may be those of a woman. The director was inspired by a real-life situation where motherhood invades the terrain of friendship. Lydia wonders about the evolution of their relationship when Salomé’s baby arrives.

The film also questions the injunctions around this motherhood which is deemed fulfilling (while childbirth can be traumatic and postpartum depression lurks in wait) or which serves, for some, as the only framework for defining women. Even though the fall is known, literally and figuratively, The Rapture remains a surprising experience and a film of incredible accuracy because it describes – almost as we imagine – the complexity of the human soul and confirms that a word, a sentence or even a look can constitute a point of seesaw. The first film by Iris Kaltenbäck, which won the 2023 Critics’ Week SACD prize last May, is of rare finesse. A must see.

The sheet

Gender : drama
Director: Iris Kaltenbäck
Distribution : Hafsia Herzi, Alexis Manenti and Nina Meurisse
Country : France
Duration : 1h37
Exit : October 11, 2023
Distributer : Diaphana

Synopsis: How did the life of Lydia, a midwife who is very involved in her work, get derailed? Is it his breakup, the pregnancy of his best friend Salomé, or the meeting of Milos, a possible new love? Lydia becomes locked in a spiral of lies and their lives are turned upside down…