This year’s Leeds International Film Festival screened a series of seven short films by French directors entitled French Connections. Encapsulating the quirky French cinematic style, the short films are at once witty and soulful, commenting on the heroic aspects of humanity.
L’étourdissement (Stunned), opens in an abattoir with a group of bemused workers surrounding a cow that will not die. One of the workers, Monsieur Coppi, drops down dead without reason, and the difficult task of informing Coppi’s wife lies with the two other workers, Eddy and George. Director Gérard Pautonnier embeds his short with black humour, leaving a constant wry smile on the audience’s faces despite the decidedly uncomfortable scenario. Unable to tell the charming Madame Coppi straight away, they accept an aperitif and have polite conversation before leaving the apartment without having been able to tell her. The short culminates in a build-up of unspoken emotion as Eddy leaves Monsieur Coppi’s wallet and keys in the apartment. The instant Madame Coppi sees them, she has a horrifying moment of realisation that something has happened to her husband. She opens the door, and finds Eddy standing behind it. They lock eyes in a shared, tragic understanding. Stunned explores how it is often understated actions that speak louder than words, and how the sensitive and thoughtful side to human beings should be deemed most heroic.
Another beautifully tender short entitled Le Grand Jeu (Game of Life), playfully toys with the spectator who is left in the dark up until the denouement. In what appears to be a homosexual encounter, two men meet up in a remote countryside setting, discussing what lies they have had to tell their loved ones in order to meet in secret. They walk along a country track, suitcases in hand, in the early hours of the morning, ending up at a graveyard, where they stop at one of the graves and begin to get undressed. The next thing we see is the two men performing Peter Pan in full costume. Seemingly absurd and comic on the surface, the director then gives a flashback of a home video where, as young boys, they are performing a show for their mother. An immediate pang of touching understanding hits the audience, as we suddenly realise, these two brothers are paying tribute to their mother on her birthday. The director explores how the children within us should never die; what seems absurd to society holds the most meaning within the self. Being heroic for others sometimes means disregarding social conventions, and once again, our actions define who we are.
The final short film, Coach, directed by Ben Adler, was the winner of the International Jury Special Prize for Best Short film at the Berlin International Film festival 2015, and is the only English language short of the series. The tone of Coach is far more dire and shocking than the rest, painting a repulsive picture of English hooliganism. A young boy and his father are on their way to a football game in Paris when their car breaks down and a coach load of England fans invite them on board. It is truly heart breaking to watch the young boy’s rejection of his father, as he is seduced by the sexist, anti-social actions of the England fans. All is said in his smirk, as he watches them shout abuse at French fans and burn the French flag at a pit stop. Coach leaves the series of shorts on a sour note, bearing the ugly truth of a teenager rejecting his father. Yet Adler provides redemption, as the young boy wipes off his grin when his father gets caught up in a fight, eventually reuniting with him through his expression of disgust for the fans. Coach evokes all the teenage guilt of being embarrassed of a parent who simply has his or her own set of morals which stand apart from the rest. Adler explores how heroism is often manifested in refusing to follow the crowd.
Olivia Neilson
Images: unifrance.org