L'atelier

It's oh so French and whilst I'm a real Francophile it really doesn't go anywhere and ends very slowly. That said, it's atmospheric and at least reminded me of the huge difference in the French and British psyche when it comes to all forms of art.

Vive la différence.

The storyline concerns a successful novelist who is hired to come to a French town experiencing a post shipbuilding industrial decline to give a workshop to a half dozen young adults (late teens/early 20s) on developing writing/creative thinking skills. Not clear if it's to help develop the youth's futures, or to become writers, or learn cooperative skills, or become well adjusted. The author encourages them to "Do research to make your fiction more real." Good potential for some insight on writing, but what we get for the movie is a lot of immature antagonistic aggressive back and forth from the group which leads me to believe the movie is more about exposing the differences amongst them (racial, gender, religious, political). Some cooperative understanding did surface, but a lot was left unclear which probably mirrors life.

For those who have seen Laurent Cantet's previous film 'Entre les murs', his new movie 'L'atelier' can have a 'déja vu' effect. Both films share the same concept: a group of French teenagers from all walks of life, brought together under the supervision of an adult, talk about their lives and what's going on in society. 'Entre les murs' was almost entirely set in a school building, 'L'atelier' shows a creative writing workshop in La Ciotat, a town on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille.

There are many similarities between both movies, but also many differences. 'L'atelier' delves deep into the psychology of one workshop participant, and also shows the world around the house where the workshop takes place. In a way, it is more complex and deeper than 'Entre les murs'.

The location of the film is very important. La Ciotat is a town in decline, but the local population cherishes nostalgic memories of its past as an important ship building town. Cantet uses historical footage to show this glorious past. The shipyard is still there, but it is no longer in use. The resentment of the locals is a rich feeding ground for anti-immigrant politicians.

These problems will soon dominate the workshop, led by the elegant Parisian author Olivia Dejazet. The kids in the workshop think she is snobbish and doesn't really understand their problems, but she soon shows her teaching talent by coaching their sentiments and encouraging them to use those feelings in their writing efforts.

Dejazet is intrigued by Antoine, a provocative workshop participant who shocks with his extreme and cruel writing efforts. She wants to understand what's going on in his head, partly because she considers using this insight in her next novel. In turn, Antoine tries to analyze Dejazet's way of thinking by dissecting one of her novels. After a while the mutual obsession between teacher and pupil gets out of hand.

'L'Atelier' tackles the problems of modern French society in a very original way. The contrasts are numerous: the intellectuals in Paris versus the working class population in the industrial towns, the Muslim population versus the non-Muslims (the Bataclan massacre is one of the discussion subjects), and the ultra-right populists versus the socialist left. But the film is also a psychological drama between two strong characters, both played very effectively. Laurent Cantet has put French society under the microscope, and shows that there is a lot of dissent, but also much hope for better times.

Not unlike Laurent Cantet's famous movie "Entre les murs", this new one "The Workshop" (Originally "L'atelier", the film takes us to a class with different personalities. In both films we meet a group of French teenagers, brought together under the supervision of a teacher. Location is a French southern coastal town not far from Marseilles, La Ciotat, a town on the Mediterranean coast, which is beautifully filmed.

The Workshop starts off with a class i creative writing which is to make the script of a thriller novel, and develops into a story which seem to spiral out of control due to one of the students, Antoine, which is a smart guy, but with obvious right wing thoughts when it comes to politics, though he says politics isn't of interest.

La Ciotat is a port yard town in decline, but with nostalgic memories of its important past. The town is almost as a player in this itself, and when an elegant Parisian author Olivia Dejazet, great played by Marina Foïs, the student in the workshop finds her a snob. Dejazet is intrigued by the loner Antoine, with provocative attitude at the workshop. Antoine is brilliantly played by Matthieu Lucci, which is soon the main character in the movie. I won't tell more, except that it all spins out of control, and the film's best part is the tension and the question you start asking yourself.

I would say this film in a very good way discusses the problems of modern French society today, with the start tensions which should be a huge concern. The film also refers to the Bataclan massacre, the Norwegian right winged terrorist Behring Breivik and his massacres as well as the truck driving terror incidents. Terrorism is not all a muslim activity.

Political yes, but also a psychological drama between strong characters, and a French society under the microscope. I found the movie exiting in three ways. First what was going to happen, secondly what I would have done as the teacher, and thirdly the way the film takes up this discussion. I love that fact. the film is intelligent, and worth all the praise it's got from critics.

The movie begins in a small town, at a writing course, with creating an exceptionally realistic atmosphere surrounding French youth of different backgrounds and mindsets, with the addition of a cosmopolitan writer from Paris who is their course instructor. All actors give natural and brilliant performances. Then the movie focuses more and more on one French guy with far-right associations and the instructor. Very well done character study in my opinion. The thrilling turn the second half takes surprised me and the ending satisfied me. Not a typical big screen movie but I think it would be very watchable for most viewers.