Gagarine (2020)
Country: FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 98m
Director: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
Cast: Alseni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri, Jamil McCraven, Finnegan Oldfield
Synopsis:
A Paris council block, christened Gagarine because it was inaugurated by the Russian cosmonaut, is the focus of a campaign in favour of conservation as opposed to demolition, led by one of the residents, an astronomy enthusiast and DIY adept.
Review:
This liberating film, with its magic realist flourishes in the second half, perhaps comes closest to Miracle in Milan in spirit and theme, dealing as it does with the homeless and dispossessed. Unlike other 'banlieue' films, it does not dwell on the insalubrious living conditions or drug-fuelled criminality, but on the solidarity of the inhabitants in their emotional attachment to what for them is 'home'. The spatial trimmings provide both a fantastical means of escape for the young Youri, and an opportunity for some arresting visual metaphors, such as the power cable as umbilical cord: should he cling on or take off? The Roma characters are another topical factor, making the film a peaceable reminder to Macron's government (and Le Pen's opposition) that these people too deserve a voice.
Country: FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 98m
Director: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
Cast: Alseni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri, Jamil McCraven, Finnegan Oldfield
Synopsis:
A Paris council block, christened Gagarine because it was inaugurated by the Russian cosmonaut, is the focus of a campaign in favour of conservation as opposed to demolition, led by one of the residents, an astronomy enthusiast and DIY adept.
Review:
This liberating film, with its magic realist flourishes in the second half, perhaps comes closest to Miracle in Milan in spirit and theme, dealing as it does with the homeless and dispossessed. Unlike other 'banlieue' films, it does not dwell on the insalubrious living conditions or drug-fuelled criminality, but on the solidarity of the inhabitants in their emotional attachment to what for them is 'home'. The spatial trimmings provide both a fantastical means of escape for the young Youri, and an opportunity for some arresting visual metaphors, such as the power cable as umbilical cord: should he cling on or take off? The Roma characters are another topical factor, making the film a peaceable reminder to Macron's government (and Le Pen's opposition) that these people too deserve a voice.
Country: FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 98m
Director: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
Cast: Alseni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri, Jamil McCraven, Finnegan Oldfield
Synopsis:
A Paris council block, christened Gagarine because it was inaugurated by the Russian cosmonaut, is the focus of a campaign in favour of conservation as opposed to demolition, led by one of the residents, an astronomy enthusiast and DIY adept.
Review:
This liberating film, with its magic realist flourishes in the second half, perhaps comes closest to Miracle in Milan in spirit and theme, dealing as it does with the homeless and dispossessed. Unlike other 'banlieue' films, it does not dwell on the insalubrious living conditions or drug-fuelled criminality, but on the solidarity of the inhabitants in their emotional attachment to what for them is 'home'. The spatial trimmings provide both a fantastical means of escape for the young Youri, and an opportunity for some arresting visual metaphors, such as the power cable as umbilical cord: should he cling on or take off? The Roma characters are another topical factor, making the film a peaceable reminder to Macron's government (and Le Pen's opposition) that these people too deserve a voice.