Continuer

Keep Going (Continuer): A French/Russian mother Sybille (Virginie Efira) and her 18 year old French son Samuel (Kacey Mottet-Klein) ride on horseback through the hills and steppe of Kyrgyzstan. It is an attempt by the mother to reconnect with her son but there is much tension and even violence between them. The reason for his surliness and the mother's story gradually unfolds. While there is some very good acting by the pair the real stars of the film are the horses and the wide open vistas of the Steppe. Not an unchanging panorama though, they move through scrub grass to rock, to semi-desert and wade through rivers with forested hills in the background.

They face danger not just from other people but also from the physical environment which they traverse. Mud holes in a river and even wolves howling in the distance at night pose actual and potential threats. There is also a sense of time moving on - Sybilles father used to organise horse treks through the area but now tourists journey across the Steppe in four wheel drive vehicles. Director/Co-writer Joachim Lafosse and cinematographer Jean-Francois Hensgens have delivered an engaging account of the crossing a beautiful but challenging countryside. The story may seem slight but at a running time of 84 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome. 8/10.