The Real Family | The Torn Family ★★★ ½

Anna, her spouse and their three boys form a beautiful, large, almost perfect family. Almost, since the little Simon is in fact placed here by the authorities, and this, since he was a baby. However, at the age of 6, his biological father returns to the scene. A bombshell for the host family. Starting with the “mother”…

Silvia Galipeau
The Press

Maternal souls with sensitive hearts, be warned. This little gem of a movie is guaranteed to bring a few tears to your eyes.

The second feature film by Fabien Gorgeart (who launched himself in cinema precisely to tell this story, inspired by his own family, especially his mother) begins during the holidays. Images of happiness on the screen: the children laugh, the parents too, and all these beautiful people have fun dancing happily to the Rita Mitsouko. It’s almost too good to be true. And it is.

Quickly, we guess that a child of the lot is not exactly like the others. He prays before bedtime. And can’t do “funny stuff”. In particular activities a bit dangerous as his “brothers” do. These are the rules, we understand, imposed on this foster family, which has also been taking care of him for years. A small eternity.

Anna, the mother, considers him her son. And he, like his mother. In gestures, tenderness and words, too. “Mom” over here. “My darling” over there. “My heart”, too. Until the day everything changes.

The pawns are laid for some proper melodrama, and that’s exactly what The real family, a feature film, which, despite its slightly simple title (although in the end perfectly ambiguous), offers us here a complex story, sparing no subtlety in the construction of the characters. If it certainly borders on the tearful, the film fortunately never completely dives into it.

Because such is life: there are no bad guys or good guys here. But only good people (almost too many), full of (always too) good intentions. Including institutions. Unfortunately divergent intentions. Not to say competitors.

Special mention to the dialogues, spontaneous and so well felt, and to the play of the actors (both adults and children, for that matter), of infinite mastery.

Mélanie Thierry, as an overinvested mother, both full of restraint and screaming with emotion, is here heartbreakingly true. You have to see his face break down, then recompose, to measure his talent.

The real family was praised in several festivals, notably in Angoulême, where the film left with the Valois of the jury and as a bonus the Valois of the best actress. Well-deserved recognition.

Drama

The real family

Fabien Gorgeart

With Melanie Thierry, Lyes Salem, Felix Moati

1:42

★★★½

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