Tous les dieux du ciel

Of course, this movie is not destined to wide audiences and I am also sure that it was a disaster in terms of gross. But I like it, because the director was totally on his own, he wrote and showed excactly what he had in mind. He wanted to do it for himself first and was damn right. He was totally free, without any nasty and pain in the a...producer on his tail, to check every cent spent for the movie. This director made several short features before and it is obvious in the way of filming and story telling too. It is depressing but poignant, gripping. I love such movies not destined to silly and happy f...endings seekers.

This is a dark, unflinching look at guilt and abuse. The trauma of a childhood accident has pushed Simon, now in his early 30s, to the edge of madness. Caring for his sister who carries the physical scars, he is almost equally debilitated by the psychological toll it has taken on him. His grasp on reality becoming more tenuous, is what he is experiencing a genuine escape or just the last vestiges of sanity slipping away ? It is a gruelling watch, with a mixture of body horror, violence and an underlying tradegy at a loss of childhood inocenents. Sometimes muddled with too many story themes it still maintains a dark fascination to the very end.

I'm not sure I could spoil the movie. Well not within a certain limit of characters that is. Don't worry though I'm not going to say anything that will spoil the movie for you. This really digs in deep and handles childhood trauma and other things in a very mad way.

There might not be much that makes sense to most watching this and there are some silver linings, but you really have to pay attention to things happening and not happening - no pun intended. This really is quite crazy, are you up for it?

In France ,where the film passed almost unnoticed on the feel good scene,it was labelled " horror " movie and got a R-16.

When they were children ,Simon and Estelle toyed with their dad's gun ; accidentally the brother made his sister a monster who lives a vegetative life . Another flashback shows the boy put the blame on his father who should not have left a loaded gun in a drawer.

Now adults ,Simon takes care of his disabled sister, but his motives remain obscure: is it because he is consumed with remorse?(whereas he's not really responsible) or is it because God (check the title)has plans for them ? (one sees Simon in an open field cursing the sky )?Most likely ,he is waiting for some ETs to take them away (the sister resembles a sci-fi ET cliché and in the last part,so does her sibling .There are close shots of a star (the sun?) and once again ,Simon call them :"come and take us!we are ready !")

It can also be seen as a rebellion against the establishment ,here represented by a doctor and a social worker (in the one real violent scene in the movie);after all ,in spite of her "progresses", is the sister happier in the convent?The nuns represent another side of the repression.

This is a complex movie,not your routine horror flick where gore and special effects get the lion's share ;there's another keyword:game ; the brother tells his sister tales of far away and long ago ,when fair knights rescued damsel in distress;he pays a man to make love to her ; he invites a strange little girl to play with her : she uses her as a doll , painting her lips and making up her eyes ;and towards the end ,the siblings' roles seem to be reversed .

Quarkxx (Alexandre Claudin) is certainly one of the most promising newcomers to emerge in the decade;should he continue in that vein, he will be a name to reckon with in the years to come.

I noticed that this movie is not easy to find, but luckily, I caught it on TV, and I have mixed feelings about it.

It is the director's feature movie debut (he did make a few short ones), so I can say I am pretty impressed with how he handled the situation.

The plot is quite unusual, which is the biggest reason why I was attracted to watch this movie. I am not going to tell you what is all about, you can get that from other reviewers or synopsis, but I am going to give you my verdict.

I liked it overall, even though there are some major holes in the story. On the other hand, that is normal for someone who never made a feature movie before.

The director's idea to put Melanie Gaydos in the lead female role turned out to be a massive hit because she fitted in perfectly. Btw, that is not a mask or a makeup, she has a genetic disorder and that is her actual look.

Jean-Luc Couchard is excellent as a psychotic and paranoid person who is dealing with guilt all his life.

And perhaps the most pleasant surprise is young actress Zelie Rixhon. If she continues with acting, she will definitely become a major star.

I can see more good stuff incoming from this guy (Quarxx)!