Welcome to this mini-series of reviews of the feature films*
of revered filmmaker Denis Villeneuve in the lead-up to his latest film Arrival. This first review in the series
is for Villeneuve’s debut feature film Un
32 août sur terre (August 32nd
on Earth).
Un 32 août sur terre
(August 32nd on Earth)
came out in 1998 is directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Pascale Bussières
and Alexis Martin. The film follows the story of Bussières’ character Simone as
she gets in a car accident at the start of the film and proceeds to make brash
decisions wanting a friend with some romantic interest in her (despite dating
someone else) to impregnate her. The two travel to the desert to do this on
account of the man, Phillippe (Martin), conditioning the impregnation on doing
so in the desert.
As strange as the premise of this film sounds, the film is
almost equally strange. The setup is strange and with how thin this film is in
terms of back story and information you are thrown into a situation you can
neither fully appreciate nor relate to in really any way. There is the occasional
expositional line or brief appearance by another character that adds layers to
our leads, but the limited use of them and, moreover, the immense use of
solitariness leaves you feeling unattached to what was going on. It also
introduces certain story threads that don’t end up going anywhere which was
frustrating as a viewer.
Despite the story issues in this film, and the amount I
couldn’t connect to it, there is a lot of good stuff in this film that shows
off the promise that Villeneuve would show later. For starters, this film is
beautifully shot. There are some particularly stunning scenes in the desert
that were very striking. He also moves the camera really creatively through
scenes and there is one in particular in an apartment that would normally feel
like pretty mundane situation that is elevated wildly by the cool way we
explore it visually.
The film is also not lacking from its lead actors. Neither
are Oscar-worthy by any stretch, but both are highly competent and their
chemistry on screen is palpable and the gentle comedy and intrigue of the
relationship between the two of them gave the film something appealing to
connect to.
Overall, I was not a fan of this film but I do think it has
some redeeming characteristics. This feels like a first film from a great
filmmaker but that doesn’t make it any less a first film. Villenueve shows
promise but the serious story weaknesses make this film very much a history
piece than a great film in this great director’s filmography. Worth checking
out if you’re interested in Villeneuve’s library though.
Ryan’s Score: 5/10
* This series of reviews will include all of Villenueve’s features except the 2000 film Malestrom due to it being highly difficult to obtain prior to the start of this series.
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