Presque rien
Encyclopedia
Presque rien is a 2000 French
film
directed by Sebastien Lifshitz
, set in Brittany
, depicting a stormy holiday romance between two 18-year-olds and what remains of that relationship eighteen months later.
), is spending his summer vacation on the French coast before beginning studies in the fall to become an architect
. His mother is deeply depressed because of the death of his baby brother from cancer, and is cared for by her sister, while Mathieu and his moody younger sister cannot get along.
Then he meets Cedric at the beach (played by Stéphane Rideau
, the object of gay desire in several films, including Les roseaux sauvages
), who is attractive and obviously looking for a boyfriend. The boys embark on a romance, and Mathieu's sudden secrecy and long hours away from home invite the curiosity of both his sister and aunt.
A parallel plot line focuses on Mathieu eighteen months later, as he recovers from the shock of their separation. After having tried to commit suicide, Mathieu's psychiatrist
sends him back to the small seaside town to learn how to deal with what happened. While Lifshitz does not explicitly show why the relationship failed, the impression is conveyed that their characters were simply too different and Mathieu was still too inexperienced and immature to be in such a serious relationship with the passionate Cedric.
The film ends on a hopeful note when Mathieu looks up Pierre (Nils Ohlund), another former boyfriend of Cedric's living in the seaside town, and they overcome past tensions to discover that they understand each other.
singer and songwriter Perry Blake
(from his album Still Life) to convey Mathieu's melancholic, depressive mood.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Sebastien Lifshitz
Sébastien Lifshitz
Sébastien Lifshitz is a French screenwriter and director. He teaches at La Fémis, a school that focuses on the subject of image and sound. He studied at the École du Louvre, and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Paris in history of art.Lifshitz's work involves gay themes...
, set in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, depicting a stormy holiday romance between two 18-year-olds and what remains of that relationship eighteen months later.
Plot
Upper-middle class Mathieu (Jérémie ElkaïmJérémie Elkaïm
Jérémie Elkaïm , is a French actor best known for his role in Presque rien . In the movie, he plays Mathieu, a troubled, emotionally fragile teen who finds himself in a whirlwind romance with Cédric...
), is spending his summer vacation on the French coast before beginning studies in the fall to become an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. His mother is deeply depressed because of the death of his baby brother from cancer, and is cared for by her sister, while Mathieu and his moody younger sister cannot get along.
Then he meets Cedric at the beach (played by Stéphane Rideau
Stéphane Rideau
Stéphane Rideau is a French actor born near Agen. Although intending to pursue a career in sports, he was discovered in 1992 at a rugby game and then auditioned for a role in the film Wild Reeds by André Téchiné. He was, at the time, sixteen years old.He would later on play the role of a gay...
, the object of gay desire in several films, including Les roseaux sauvages
Les roseaux sauvages
Wild Reeds is a 1994 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, about the sensitive passage in the adulthood and in awakening of sexuality by four youths at the end of the Algerian War.-Plot:...
), who is attractive and obviously looking for a boyfriend. The boys embark on a romance, and Mathieu's sudden secrecy and long hours away from home invite the curiosity of both his sister and aunt.
A parallel plot line focuses on Mathieu eighteen months later, as he recovers from the shock of their separation. After having tried to commit suicide, Mathieu's psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
sends him back to the small seaside town to learn how to deal with what happened. While Lifshitz does not explicitly show why the relationship failed, the impression is conveyed that their characters were simply too different and Mathieu was still too inexperienced and immature to be in such a serious relationship with the passionate Cedric.
The film ends on a hopeful note when Mathieu looks up Pierre (Nils Ohlund), another former boyfriend of Cedric's living in the seaside town, and they overcome past tensions to discover that they understand each other.
Plot Structure
Rather than having a clear, chronologically ordered narrative, the movie switches between the summer and the winter plotlines, depicting the differences in Mathieu's life at both points, as well as establishing the contrast between one and the other visually.Soundtrack
The soundtrack of the movie uses songs by IrishRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
singer and songwriter Perry Blake
Perry Blake
Perry Blake is an Irish singer and songwriter from Sligo, known for the delicate, downtempo, melancholic style of his songs and his soft singing voice....
(from his album Still Life) to convey Mathieu's melancholic, depressive mood.
External links
- Presque rien at FilmsDeFrance.com gives an insightful review