For “A Faithful Man” (L’Homme Fidele in French), we can say that it is a very text-based persuasion film that appeared at the 38th International Istanbul Film Festival. Louis Garrel, one of the young and talented actors of French cinema, is accompanied by his wife Laetitia Casta.
The film makes an interesting yet calm introduction. Marianne tells Abel, the man she lives with, that she is pregnant one morning but the child is not her, but her best friend. Abel leaves the house with great calmness and sleeps with her friend’s brother. Nine years later, Marianne is widowed with a nine-year-old boy, and Abel comes back in. As if nothing had happened and Marianne took her into her life, as if nothing had happened again! Of course, these situations create moments that can be called situation comedy in the building blocks of French cinema.
It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a four-way relationship. Marianne’s youngest son thinks his mother killed his father and warns Abel! I mean, his mother’s a killer for himb Eve, the sister of the deceased husband, is a second character to be persuaded! It is quite an effort to overcome the two obstacles in order to start the relations they have completed years agob
As I said, we are going through an intense conversation and a little intrigue. The 75-minute film is trying to convince us with certain places and meetings without using a lot of space, but we can say that the persuasion part has been prolonged and caused some loss of interest. It was a film that questioned how we should look at relationships, and we can’t say that it fits very well with our society.
Abel’s position as a man is very important here! She tries to return to the woman who deceives and has children with her best friend without the slightest ego! He thinks, interrogates, owns and pursues his emotions. Marianne should be questioned as a woman. Is the child stuck between Abel and the one we think he loves? Or wouldn’t the Abel option have reappeared if the man hadn’t died? Was he going to move on with his life?
Eve is a relative of the family, but at the same time the most distant part, Abel feels obliged to take the subject itself! And there’s an interesting mix of this relationship complexity. Comedy covered in drama sauce. But it is still hard to say that it met our expectations too. The lesson we need to learn from here can be the diversity of country cultures and their perspective on relations. It was also nice to see Laetita Casta! Other than that, relations are not always lived between the two people say that the incarnation of the body is not mistaken.
A Faithful Man (2019)
Directed by: Louis Garrel
Starring: Louis Garrel, Laetitia Casta, Lily-Rose Depp, Joseph Engel, Diane Courseille, Vladislav Galard, Bakary Sangaré, Kiara Carrière, Dali Benssalah, Arthur Igual
Screenplay by: Jean-Claude Carrière, Louis Garrel
Production Design by: Jean Rabasse
Cinematography by: Irina Lubtchansky
Film Editing by: Joëlle Hache
Art Department Emilie Ferrenq. Nastasia Misiek. Romain Schandeler
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Kino Lorber
Release Date: April 12, 2019
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