Adieu, Lacan

I want to preface my review by saying that if you don't care much for introspection, the human condition, or deliberately paced films, Adieu Lacan is not for you! This film is made up of a series of sessions between a young woman who has immigrated to Paris from Brazil, and her therapist Lacan, who is an old frenchman. Not only do we witness her processing her story, but we get to see Lacan's side as he engages in questioning the process and his place in it. That's something I wish all therapists did!

I like having the opportunity to find out what a person is truly thinking and feeling (even if those people are subjects of a fictional film) and Adieu Lacan allows for that. The film is very thoughtful and also very well thought out. As a viewer I wondered how the film would stay visually engaging. I was rewarded by beautiful and contemplative compositions and editing. I watched this film a few months ago and it is still with me.

I think this is superb filmmaking!

First of all, I loved "Adieu Lacan" so much! I watched it twice and I knew very little about Lacan to start with. The direction, cinematography, and acting were stellar.

Adieu, Lacan is both a subtle tone poem and a bold foray into intellectual history. This is a film that will retain its value for the long haul. One of the great rebel minds of our time has found his champion. The film is directed with great confidence and aplomb, allowing the actors to give convincing, understated performances even while summoning the most consequential of themes and personages.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. As a psychoanalyst, I would say it is a gem of a film; in my opinion, a true masterpiece that so gently, subtly and accurately portrays an analytic treatment, and more specifically a treatment that proceeds along the lines of a Lacanian cure. An excellent film for analysts and non-analysts alike.

Movie history is replete with bad or unartistic representations of analyses. It is a real marvel that Adieu Lacan manages to be both entertaining, artistic, and, at the same time, true to how analysis begins, proceeds, and reaches an end. The three actors - David Patrick Kelly as the famous French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, Ismenia Mendes as his analysand, and Antu Yacob as Lacan's secretary - really brings the analysis alive and sustain a high level of drama and interest in the characters from beginning to end. The directing by Richard Ledes also adds to the way the audience gets pulled into the drama of what is happening; and some of the camera work is very innovative and adds to the sense of intimacy and engagement without ever being voyeuristic. Purely as film, but especially if you want to appreciate the real drama and intellectual and emotional excitement of what analyses is, this is a must see film!