Je verrai toujours vos visages

Je verrai toujours vos visages is part of a recent wave of French cinema that sheds light on the public institutions' efforts to heal woes in society and help the vulnerable. Basically, the "Fraternité" in the French Republic motto "Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité."

So, if you have enjoyed watching Hors Normes, or Pupille, this movie should be a positive experience for you.

You may have read the plot. You may be concerned that the movie is too emotionally heavy. That life is already painful and you are not in the mood for a movie tackling an issue so serious. Rest assured: the movie is not all suffering. Go for it. You will learn something or two, including the value of compassion.

One element of disappointment for me is the packaging of the stories together into a movie. The movie switches between two different stories, and I was personally not convinced that there is any real synergy between them. It feels like each story was not enough for one movie, so they glued the two together. Or that the creators were keen on showing different missions undertaken by the Restorative Justice system. Likewise, the movie delves randomly and somewhat superficially at the personal lives of the public agents. We get sneak peaks every now and then that we could have done without. Too much and at the same time not enough.

In short, good story but the salt and pepper of the movie could have been better seasoned.

I believe in Empathy. And compassion. And forgiveness.

Hence the first scene was strong, astounding to me.

I heard something like: "No empathy here". Well, quite intriguing moto, I thought.

I was led through the parallel processes in the movie delighted by the sheer cleanness of accuracy of its point of view as well as THE LACK OF manipulating me to drown in bitter-sweet-cheap-drama.

Nearly all scenes exhibits a great opportunity to fall deep down sentimentalism - but Jeanne Herry keeps on being focused, consistent, on course.

With great appreciation as well as thanks I got a peek to a totally new way of approach to life's bumps, obstacles, pains.

I never heard about Restorative Justice before.

It's kind of wonder for me to see a way that generates Empathy, Compassion and Forgiveness - especially inwards, toward oneself maybe even before practicing it to others.

The topic is not the same, but the overall atmosphere and more or less scheme, kind of drama, reminded me TWELVE ANGRY MEN, a story which takes mostly place in one room - whithout being a trial - involving people, men and woman, victims and perpetrators, facing each other, and trying to talk, explaining, showing, confessing what they felt....it has never been done before and that makes it even more powerful, astounding. It is purely stunning. Terrific dialogues. However, I can understand that some audiences may be annoyed , because it is naive, unrealistic. That's a matter of taste, point of view, that depends of which angle you watch it. Something is wrong in the story lines, when a young hoodlums speaks of a home jacking where he and his pals took credit cards with the secret code to retrieve money from the cash machines. In France, with a credit card - stolen or not - you can retrieve ONLY 400 euros each week. So when this hoodlum says that one of his pals bought a new motorcycle with his share of the loot, that's not possible.... The hoodlums could only at best retrieve 400 euros. Because a few hours after the homejacking, the victimes have necessarily declared the robbery to their bank. 400 euros shared between three, that's doesn't allow anyone to buy a new motorcycle. No way. And the most unusual is that you have two different stories in this film: the group and Chloée character problems with her half brother. They never meet. Strange but why not.

Without a shadow of a doubt I am saying this is the best movie I've seen in 2023 and I've seen a lot. Also, this is the first one on restorative justice (a program that bonds criminals and victims in order for criminals to become aware of the harm they inflicted, feel remorse and change), and it was a real eye-opener. It both opened my eyes to see the fruit of this hard work done by amazing people, a lot of them being volunteers, who believe in this system; and made these eyes cry. It takes a lot of courage and perseverance to keep going and do this work that might seem totally impossible at the outset.

I am thanking all the people involved in making this film because we need to know that this exists, that this works, and that broken lives (both the victims' and the criminals') can be mended, and start anew. Bravo! Je verrai toujours vos visages.

It seems exactly like the type of films that I cannot remain indifferent to. So realistic and such a compelling story. It is exactly what I have expected from this movie to be. An internal and uncontrolled storm that doesn't let its viewers to stay calm.

The thoughts are running to so many directions and the work of the director: Jeanne Herry, which has made the great "Pupille" is just so accurate, that you sometimes feel that you are in the same room with the same people that are opening themselves to strangers, that are at a different spot.

The film is talking about a special program that is bringing crime victims and criminals that made the same crime (or even the crime itself) together. It is a healing process that requires both sides to be open minded and try to tolerant to towards the other side.

The movie is talking about traumas that not sure anyone, that hasn't suffered those types of "Minor" traumatizing experiences will understand. It is taking people from a wide range and dives into each one of them and into its traumatic experience and lesson learning, that takes place while they speak.

It is an experience like no other, for the movie industry and a great achievement in directing and acting. Takes each and every one of the viewers from his safe spot and confronts with reality and still has a lot of hope and redemption in it. Very special film and experience that not every viewer can withstand, but for movies lovers, it is a must.