L'Atelier

The movie begins in a small town, at a writing course, with creating an exceptionally realistic atmosphere surrounding French youth of different backgrounds and mindsets, with the addition of a cosmopolitan writer from Paris who is their course instructor. All actors give natural and brilliant performances. Then the movie focuses more and more on one French guy with far-right associations and the instructor. Very well done character study in my opinion. The thrilling turn the second half takes surprised me and the ending satisfied me. Not a typical big screen movie but I think it would be very watchable for most viewers.

The French film, "The Workshop", is a difficult film for me to review. On one hand, I appreciated that it dared to address some important social issues facing the country and many other countries. But, on the other, the message seems confusing and will likely leave many viewers wondering what the picture was trying to say…or, if it was trying to say anything at all.

The story is set in a small town which is experiencing hard times. The local shipyard was closed long ago and there is a sense of malaise over the place. Because of this, it's surprising that a published author like Olivia (Marina Fois) would come all the way here to teach a summer course on creative writing. Seven students have signed up for the class and its freestyle structure leads to these young adults revealing who they are and what they think during the discussions. Several of the students are defensive because they are Muslims and the class is working on a murder mystery…and they don't want the characters or story to come off as anti-Muslim. But one of the students, a loner named Antoine (Matthieu Lucci) seems to take pleasure out of baiting his fellow students and bucking the group-think that has been established in the class. Over time, Olivia begins to worry that Antoine actually might harbor real fantasies of murder…and his social media account and that of his friends seem to indicate this is a real possibility. The story, at this point, is pretty interesting and I was hooked. Unfortunately, the teacher's actions and Antoine's from this point on are unpredictable, often confusing and really left me wondering what the message was supposed to be in the picture. In other words, it all seemed to fall apart at the end and left some of the viewers baffled. It's all a shame, as there really are some interesting story elements and it could have been better.

This French language film is a slow-paced, introspective, social and psychological study.

A group of young adults, all largely unlikeable for the most part, are brought together on a creative writing course as part of a social project. Their tutor/mentor is a middle aged, middle class female author from Paris who seemingly has not much in common with them.

She is charged with inspiring the group to write a novel - a crime thriller - as a way of developing their character, confidence and self worth. The setting is a French coastal town that has perhaps seen better days, its past industrial shipbuilding prowess now just a memory.

Arguments among the group are quick to surface, and are mainly based on race, politics and prospects. The film clearly sets out to use these group conflicts to raise French cultural issues, and while that is perfectly legitimate it does seem at times that these arguments surface without a great deal of provocation or resolution.

As the group dynamics develop, the film focuses on the relationship between the teacher, Olivia, and one particularly troubled young man, Antoine. Dabbling in far right politics and militia, he appears to have issues with isolation and violence and is evermore on the fringes of the group.

Olivia and Antoine become more intensely interested in each other, and the film does a very good job of keeping us guessing where their relationship is headed. There are sexual tensions, threats of violence and mutual (unhealthy) intrigue building between them in equal measure as the film progresses, and this adds a dose of intensity and drama into what otherwise is a fairly uneventful social study.

Overall, this is a well made though somewhat flat study of political and cultural issues in France, lightly exploring things such as race, immigration, the far right, liberalism and de-industrialisation. The film is lifted by the psychological drama between troubled Antoine and articulate Olivia, but for the most part remains a passable social commentary that raises some interesting cultural questions - in particular the prospects for young adults who may feel out of touch with an ever changing France.

Very much a film for those who like to think about political and social concerns rather than feast on fast paced action.

I think this film is trying to to make a contrast between slick, unreal thrillers and reality. I get a sense of the storyline at the end being improvised so that I never knew what might happen. I was impressed but it wasn't my normal type of film, hence a 7 but could have been 8.

Although I did like the scenes of the main character swimming, I don't know that they were necessary. The other students in the workshop could have been more involved, instead they acted like they were bored, there were possibilities missed for conflict that could have deepened the plot. Overall, I liked the film, it was a view into French life that you don't often see.

For those who have seen Laurent Cantet's previous film 'Entre les murs', his new movie 'L'atelier' can have a 'déja vu' effect. Both films share the same concept: a group of French teenagers from all walks of life, brought together under the supervision of an adult, talk about their lives and what's going on in society. 'Entre les murs' was almost entirely set in a school building, 'L'atelier' shows a creative writing workshop in La Ciotat, a town on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille.

There are many similarities between both movies, but also many differences. 'L'atelier' delves deep into the psychology of one workshop participant, and also shows the world around the house where the workshop takes place. In a way, it is more complex and deeper than 'Entre les murs'.

The location of the film is very important. La Ciotat is a town in decline, but the local population cherishes nostalgic memories of its past as an important ship building town. Cantet uses historical footage to show this glorious past. The shipyard is still there, but it is no longer in use. The resentment of the locals is a rich feeding ground for anti-immigrant politicians.

These problems will soon dominate the workshop, led by the elegant Parisian author Olivia Dejazet. The kids in the workshop think she is snobbish and doesn't really understand their problems, but she soon shows her teaching talent by coaching their sentiments and encouraging them to use those feelings in their writing efforts.

Dejazet is intrigued by Antoine, a provocative workshop participant who shocks with his extreme and cruel writing efforts. She wants to understand what's going on in his head, partly because she considers using this insight in her next novel. In turn, Antoine tries to analyze Dejazet's way of thinking by dissecting one of her novels. After a while the mutual obsession between teacher and pupil gets out of hand.

'L'Atelier' tackles the problems of modern French society in a very original way. The contrasts are numerous: the intellectuals in Paris versus the working class population in the industrial towns, the Muslim population versus the non-Muslims (the Bataclan massacre is one of the discussion subjects), and the ultra-right populists versus the socialist left. But the film is also a psychological drama between two strong characters, both played very effectively. Laurent Cantet has put French society under the microscope, and shows that there is a lot of dissent, but also much hope for better times.