Tout est parfait

Anyone looking for a "feel good" movie that cheer leads about the glories of living should take a pass on this one, but fans of films that take a more realistic view of life, one in which issues are examined and discussed but never fully settled will find much to appreciate in Tout est parfait (Everything is fine). One of the highlights of the film for me was that it showed one of the most honest depictions of teenagers I've seen on screen--there are characters representing various "types" of personalities, but they are not limited to narrowly-defined roles. Just like in real life, the personalities in the film are diverse and often contradictory.

The movie begins with lead character Josh, a member of a close-knit group of young men who hang out together, discovering that he's the only of the five who hasn't killed himself. While everyone around him treats him as an object of pity or curiosity, Josh himself insists that he is fine (hence the title) and is capable of taking care of his own feelings, disengaging from his parents and being actively hostile to the psychologist they insist he sees. Josh's actions belie his words, however, as he struggles to form a friendship with the father of one of his friends and develops a budding romance with the former girlfriend of another. When he's not with one of them, he can be found wandering the town contemplating his lost friends in flashback scenes that reveal the personalities of his friends and the nature of their friendships a little bit at a time.

There are many fine performances and memorable characters in the film, but perhaps the strongest character is Mia, the girl Josh seems to be falling for. She offers Josh love and acceptance, but she also challenges him with remarkable strength, courage and grace, ultimately inspiring Josh to realize that he's not the only one who hurts, but he's the only one who can make his own choices for himself.

Overall, the film is excellent, but I do have a few minor criticisms of it. The movie's pace is quite slow, which works well after a certain point, but at least for me the first ten minutes or so dragged on very slowly. Josh's tactiturn personality makes it hard to feel much for him at first which makes a film seen primarily from his point of view a bit of a struggle to get into. At about the 20 minute mark the film really picked up and more than made up for that first bit, but it is worth noting that it takes a while to warm up to it.

The flashback scenes are well played, but the transitions in and out of them are often awkward; while I normally dislike films that waste a lot of time telling instead of showing, parts of this movie definitely could have been improved with just a bit of exposition. Still, despite its flaws, this is a great film well worth seeing.

Do not be fooled: even if the movie talks about suicide, it doesn't criticize or judge the act itself. Instead, the movie follows the story of a survivor, a teenager who one day realizes that his four best friends have killed themselves in some sort of suicidal pact. Yes, the movie follows a very slow rhythm and there aren't many words spoken: they're spoken with the silences throughout the movie. The main actor (Maxime Dumontier) does a fine job supporting the movie by himself. The movie, however, finishes on a hight note. Because of its incredible ending, the movie obviously deserves a second viewing. Movie well done on a subject that isn't easy to elaborate. Bravo.

I went to see that film because suicide is a taboo subject and must be dealt with. The film has the merit to have tried. I enjoyed the beginning but I started to get bored by many clichés and the chaotic photography. It brings the viewer nowhere and I expected to see a rebirth of life after death, but the pain lived by the survivors, gets channeled in a teenage-type love story instead of bringing us closer to the parents' drama. The film lies on the main character's performance, quite well interpreted, and his sad and heavy silence is very realistic. But the other actors are empty and the deep pain they should be going through is unfortunately too shallow and thus not conveyed. Even the character Mia, the strong survivor could not lift the movie. I do not know if it is the actors or rather the scenario or the overall tone that does not allow the movie to lift the viewers higher and touch us where it should have. We should have felt that life worth to try. But that was not felt.