Lo sconosciuto del Grande Arco

Saw this at the film festival Ghent 2025, part of the section Artists on Film. Main course seems to be social commentary on France, its bureaucracy and its state institutions, the latter not always working together in the interest of the general public, often clinging to their independence regardless the case in question.

A parallel story about an architect with grand ideas and attention for detail, who however is not prepared to compromise when institutions come in the way of his perceived end goal. Even when the French president is personally involved in the proceedings, it does not help in ironing away the obstacles.

All in all, it covers many contemporary topics in one single story, keeping us interested from start to finish. As a final remark: I was glad that the Danish architect could speak French fluently. There were no silly misunderstandings on the linguistic level and no time lost on translations/interpreters.