Dheepan, 2015.
Directed by Jacques Audiard.
Starring Faouzi Bensaidi, Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan, Vincent Rottiers, Claudine Vinasithamby and Marc Zinga.
SYNOPSIS:
Three Sri Lankan refugees come together to forge a fake a family to flee from the conflict and emigrate to a banlieue in France, where they begin to etch out a living against such harsh conditions.
Director Jacques Audiard’s long awaited follow up to Rust and Bone (which followed his previous acclaimed cult film, A Prophet), Dheepan, arrived last year to much acclaim in Cannes winning the Palme d’Or. Following a brief release earlier this year, Dheepan finally arrives on DVD with no shortage of anticipation from fans of Audiard’s work.
Dheepan is the story of the titular character, a Tamil freedom fighter who has been battling in the dying embers of a civil war in Sri Lanka. He escapes to France to flee the violence, along with a woman and child who will pose as his wife and daughter in order to make asylum more likely. As he and his new “family” struggle to settle in Paris, moving from place to place, Dheepan finally finds work as a caretaker but as he confronts daily violence the old wounds of war are re-opened and he must reconnect with his old warrior instinct.
Given Audiard’s past work you would expect Dheepan to be raw and unflinching. This is the case and additionally, despite that rawness and realness that he strives for, in unison to that, it is beautifully shot. It’s also timely, offering a bleak look at the transition that many refugees have to go through as the escape brutality to find haven in Europe. Unfortunately of course that haven is often grim as they can be cast aside in the less savoury areas and then ignored. Without veering into a politics, let’s just say that much in Dheepan most certainly rings true.
The cast are uniformally excellent. There’s real authenticity in the performances. The three principal cast members, Jesuthasan Anthonythasan (Dheepan), Kalieaswari Srinivasan (Yalini, Dheepans faux wife) and Claudine Vinasithamby (their “daughter”) are exceptional. Their performances are gripping and powerful. The audience roots for Dheepan as he tries to live a quiet and uneventful life, becoming more and more connected to his new family. When that violence does catch up with him and his world begins falling apart, it’s a wrench to watch, but impeccably performed.
Dheepan isn’t one of those films you’re likely to revisit too many times, if at all, but what it is, is an accomplished and affecting piece of cinema. With strong direction from a genuine auteur, and heartfelt, genuine performances it will at least linger in the memory as it requires investment from its audience and will forge an emotional connection, even if it’s almost relentlessly bleak.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published August 10, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
