L'adieu à la nuit

Muriel is a loving grandmother. She runs an equestrian center and manages a huge orchard of cherry trees. By chance, she discovers the radicalization of Alex, her grandson, a lost young man with a tortured soul: after the sudden death of his mother, he is skinned alive, ungrateful and under the intellectual influence of people organizing one-way trips to Syria. Indeed, in the eyes of God, a honorific death would have a priori more value than a 'classical' life. It is filmed with a coldness that reinforces the feeling of helplessness. Catherine Deneuve plays masterfully. Moreover, I have the impression to discover Kamel Labroudi and Mohamed Djouhri: they are both as sober as subtle.

Catherine Deneuve stars as a family patriarch attempting to protect her grandson from a force she can't comprehend, himself. I had the privilege of seeing this film at the Berlin Film Festival on opening night, with the presence of director Andre Techine and Catherine Deneuve. So I am the first to admit that the experience somewhat blinded my judgment of this film. What starts out as a promising character study quickly deflates into a melodramatic family drama. Don't get me wrong, Techine directs the film with competent precision, filling up the screen with excellent cinematography. Many shots are simple but incredibly effective at bringing across their message. Deneuve too delivers an excellent performance, giving audiences a sense of seasoned experience by the start of the film. Towards the end her character falls more into a trap of naivety, where she tries everything to save her grandson. By no means is this particularly original but Deneuve pulls it off extremely well. In fact in my opinion her career of solid performances has really stepped up again ever since Lars von Trier's Dancer In The Dark. However her performance and Techine's direction can't help the cliches and tropes this film falls into. The grandson character is portrayed as this idealistic character, at first he is extremely compelling, I was able to understand where he came from yet opposed the direction he was heading into. He shares great scenes together with Deneuve that are definitely at the heart of this movie. However the film drops in quality towards the end of the second act, relying more on the typical platitudes and cliches of a family drama. The film loses its complexity, some may not see this as a problem but the film attempts to deal with a contemporary political topic (which I won't spoil as I was surprised by it). However this topic can not just serve as background works for a family drama. We live in a world that's plagued by terrorism both on the sides of jihadists and white supremacists. Donald Trump is President of the United States. The main topic of the film is such a complex issue that combines so many other problems within our own society. The film simply can't gloss over these problems and make a melodramatic family movie. However the cinematography and Catherine Deneuve's excellent performance certainly make this a watchable movie. But it could've been so much more than just watchable.

Since 2008, enthusiastic art house cinema audiences have been able to watch the young Swiss actor Kacey Mottet-Klein (* 1998 in Lausanne) grow up. Whether in "Home" (2008) and "Winterdieb" (2012) by Ursula Meier or in "With Seventeen" (2016) and "Farewell to the Night" (2019) by Andre Techine - little by little it became clear to every viewer that With this exceptional actor you are not dealing with a flash in the pan.

Alex (Kacey Mottet-Klein) grew up primarily at his grandma Muriel's (EUROPEAN FILM AWARD winner Catherine Deneuve) horse stud near Perpignan and also has a close bond with her. But since he started dating Lila (Oulaya Amamra), he has changed noticeably. On the outside, he's still wearing his favorite red tracksuit, but what's going on behind his forehead? One day Muriel finds out that Alex doesn't want to go to Canada to study, but instead wants to join the Islamic State in Syria. In his own words, he says "farewell to the night." Muriel is horrified and doesn't know what to do. Then she makes a momentous decision...

Very interesting family drama, which of course thrives on its great actors. La Deneuve is always fantastic! The woman is already a living legend! For me, as a fan of Nobel Prize winner Claude Simon, it is a particular pleasure that the film was shot in Perpignan and the surrounding area (the author's hometown). And Kacey Mottet Klein's red Adidas tracksuit is already iconic. We will definitely see a lot more of this actor.

The film was also shown out of competition at the 2019 Berlinale. Definitely worth seeing!

When her grandson suddenly appears on her doorstep Muriel rejoices. She is a successful horse breeder and her life is beautiful in a simple way, her corner of the world as stunning as it is remote. But with the arrival of her grandson a dark suspicion creeps in. Will Muriel be able to take a stand against the imminent danger to her grandson? And what does it mean to truly save someone?

The grim reality of radicalised youngsters in France is showcased in an unlikely surrounding. The French countryside seems to be the furthest place from the raging Syrian war, but the evil spreads its tentacles everywhere. The radicalised Muslims are shown in unflinchingly brutal way although it's never a secret that the kids who found themselves in this situation are out of their depth. Without prejudice the movie delivers both sides of the argument, showcasing how exactly one can become brainwashed in a modern unreliable world with no real values.

Catherine Deneuve is marvellous in the film, looking stunning at the age of 77. She looks naturally beautiful in the French village setting. Deneuve delivers the small but heartbreaking drama of Muriel with the reliable focus of an acting veteran, tinged with love and hope.

FAREWELL TO THE NIGHT may not give full justice to the complex subjects It touches upon, but it is a meaningful look at a family in crisis that mimics the crisis of the modern world.

I have seen about 35 minutes of this film. The film is not bad, but I didn't wanted to continue watching. I don't want to see this topic anymore as I've seen that multiple times.

I don't understand why non-native citizens always decide to fix their problem this way. I guess, if I'm not satisfied in a country where I live, I can still relocate to different country which suits a better to my way of living, in this case it can be for example Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan or any Arabic country.

Or is it related to high quality of living? I mean if you have enough food, you are healthy, you have your own house and money, then you start to think that your live does not satisfy you and you need to find a thing to focus to. So for example breaking public things, doing graffiti, think there are different kinds of people like a castes. Then you start to hate and fight against people who are in different "caste" or a social class.

We are not different people, all of us, we are the same.