Nas Sombras de Paris

«Rascal» could not be a more euphemistic title, considering what the film narrates. Before the eyes of a person passing by, the mysterious, seductive, and repellent Djé (Deladonchamps) is just an ex-convict, a smiling homeless man with a package of surprises, with mental resources that an interlocutor would not expect from him. But it is not my intention to reveal what Djé is really up to, because I would ruin the film for you.

At the end, I was surprised that the film is little mentioned on the internet, and that it has few awards. Apart from the fact that its release, scheduled as part of the official selection of the Cannes film festival in May 2020, was affected by the pandemic, I think that this indifference responds above all to the aesthetic treatment that director Peter Dourountzis gave to his first feature, based on his own script, which evades all dramaturgical resources with a whiff of psychology, in the style of a 19th century novel. He opted for a model that is closer to direct cinema, to anthropological cinema. Djé is defined neither by the opinions of others nor by his own reflections on his life, but through his actions and words in the present.

Descriptively, the film adds up incidents in Djé's life, after he is released from prison. The man arrives in Limoges and encounters bricklayers, sexual conquests and a graffiti artist who takes him to live with a community of misfits. Neither Djé nor anyone talk about the future or prospects. Events just happen and we do not know where the action is taking us, although director Dourountzis leaves us clues so that we can deduce the outcome. At the conclusion, there is nothing to explain, everything has been said.

In the center, the actor Pierre Deladonchamps dominates the film. There is no scene in which he is not involved. Deladonchamps has a way to project an unpleasant personality, with an almost gloomy expression, although it is sometimes illuminated by his smile. If in «Stranger by the Lake» he was a homosexual addicted to impersonal and fleeting sex, here he is a rabidly heterosexual guy, restrained, with the look of a snake.

A good film, with a different aesthetic and a dramaturgy free of emotional manipulations.

From the very beginning, this story grabs you, squeezes your guts, makes you feel dizzy with the viewing of this dude, a dude whom you pay anything to see him hit in the face, wiped out, a nasty guy whose smile pisses you off at a scale that you would prefer to switch off your TV or laptop, not to see him anymore. I have rarely seen such a character in a film, and this is very realistic in the acting and directing. Of course, Marc Barbé would have been perfect for this disgusting role - remember him in TROIS HUIT - but that doesn't remove anything to the quality of this film. But, again, beware before watching, it is definitely not for all audiences. Though there is no length at all; very rare. But in this kind of topic, you may prefer VIENS CHEZ MOI J'HABITE CHEZ UNE COPINE, an old French comedy from the eighties. This latest is far far smoother and less disturbing.

It's very rare that an almost unknown director redoes one of his movies, after only six years ;"errance" tells the same story ,with the same anti-hero ,Djé ;only the location has changed :the former took place in Paris, the remake in Limoges.

The film met mixed critical reception ;while "telerama" praised it, "les cahiers du cinema" and "le monde" panned it;in the audience,opinions sharply differed too .

I would take the golden mean :it's a curate's egg of a movie; what is good,nobody can deny,is the principal : Pierre Deladonchamp,with his suave smile , ,his gift of the gab ,which he often keeps to the minimum ;he's not particularly handsome, he has a boy-next-door look but he has this un-petit-je-ne sais-quoi which seduces the girls and fascinates the boys. There's humor : the scene on the train with the girl talking so loud on the phone takes revenge on those people who seem to tell all the world about their so called interesting life in transportation ; how Djé gets away from the looting of the supermarket,pretending he is a policeman with his prisoner ; the two stories orally told ,more or less complete .

The principal succeeds in making his character mysterious ,elusive and discreetly dangerous .....and he's got his pride :when the SAMU social van (mobile emergency medical service for homeless people ) stops next to him ,he does not want to pass for a tramp (which he is ,for he's like the cuckoo that borrows the other birds from their nest.)

But it's not all good news : the screenplay is desultory, the secondary characters (particularly the former sociology student) are cardboard ; directing is that of an intellectual playing with trash ; one hopes this promising director will choose ANOTHER subject for his next effort :twice in enough!