Der Gymnasiast

Christophe Honore captures inevitable journey of self-discovery that Lucas (Paul Kircher) begins after the sudden death of his father. The emotional vacuum right after the accident is quickly substituted with the chaos of emotions - grief, guilt, solitude, desire, hatred.

To deal with the chaos, especially if you are only as young as the main protagonist, is doomed to be chaotic and unorganised too. The chaotic and contrasting nature of Lucas' actions is most apparent in his first days in Paris, where he experiences both profound religious experience and first making love with an anonymous, insignificant person.

Cheerfulness and joy burdened with sadness is an unimaginably difficult role to play but Paul Kircher does a wonderful job in conveying the emotional rawness and ambiguity. And so does Juliette Binoche, playing his mother. But it's perhaps this ambiguity that is so confusing for the young heart. What to believe in the world where sorrow is veiled under the scarf of joy?