Writer
Disaster movies tend to inhabit the close-but-not-too-close realm of the ‘what if?’, but Quentin Reynaud’s taut drama evokes a reality that is painfully immediate, as the world combusts around us. Alex Lutz (recently seen as the son in Gaspar Noé’s Vortex) plays a man determined to escape with his elderly father (the ineffable André Dussollier) from a wildfire that is rapidly approaching their forested area of southern France. The pair know all the local roads, and the secret detours, but when they are caught in a dead end, they seem to be running out of possible exits. At once road movie, claustrophobic jeopardy thriller and portrait of a prickly but tender father-son relationship, this finely acted and executed film expertly lays on the heat.
Director
Disaster movies tend to inhabit the close-but-not-too-close realm of the ‘what if?’, but Quentin Reynaud’s taut drama evokes a reality that is painfully immediate, as the world combusts around us. Alex Lutz (recently seen as the son in Gaspar Noé’s Vortex) plays a man determined to escape with his elderly father (the ineffable André Dussollier) from a wildfire that is rapidly approaching their forested area of southern France. The pair know all the local roads, and the secret detours, but when they are caught in a dead end, they seem to be running out of possible exits. At once road movie, claustrophobic jeopardy thriller and portrait of a prickly but tender father-son relationship, this finely acted and executed film expertly lays on the heat.
Director
Thomas was once renowned as a young tennis prodigy, but never had the career he hoped for. At 37, despite his declining physical fitness and shattered knee he decides to compete in the intense qualifying rounds of the French Open at Roland-Garros for one last attempt at glory. Although his wife Eve and mother Judith advise him to give up, Thomas obsessively pushes forward. He will have to fight his own demons and will ultimately face a determined young player who reminds him of his younger self.
Screenplay
Claire and Maurice have to take the whole family to Claire's father's funeral. This tightly knit family is not only composed of Claire's vegetarian son, Alex, who's secretly fond of Maurice's daughter, Lucie, the teenage rebel, but also Claire's brother, a poet living under his sister's roof; without forgetting young Prune, Claire and Maurice's daughter, who will develop a passion for the country's emblematic cows. They must all strive to get along during the road trip to Willouby.
Director
Claire and Maurice have to take the whole family to Claire's father's funeral. This tightly knit family is not only composed of Claire's vegetarian son, Alex, who's secretly fond of Maurice's daughter, Lucie, the teenage rebel, but also Claire's brother, a poet living under his sister's roof; without forgetting young Prune, Claire and Maurice's daughter, who will develop a passion for the country's emblematic cows. They must all strive to get along during the road trip to Willouby.
