14/05/2011

Physical violence galore, an oppressive mood and a family vendetta feature today at the Directors’ Fortnight of the 64th Cannes Film Festival, in The End of Silence [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a debut feature from the young Roland Edzard.

Straddling the line between genre and auteur films, The End of Silence enters territory rarely seen in French cinema and attempts to follow in the footsteps of films such Deliverance (for its hunting and forest suspense) and At Close Range (for its dangerous, dark family mood). Suspense and a wintry environment in the quasi-petrified forest of the Vosges Mountains come together in a Greek tragedy of sorts, where fists and sniper rifles rule the roost in a place where isolation is the norm, and words are rare and brutal.

The drama takes shape in a chalet housing a family of four children. The youngest, Jean (a stony-faced Franck Falise), is 18 and gets on everyone’s nerves. His post-teenage revolt annoys his older brother, Luc, in particular. The trouble starts one morning with insults, threats from Jean, a petrol can on the doorstep and a lit cigarette, and a violent quarrel between the two brothers. The tone is set and the pressure stays at a climax throughout.

Taken under his wing by their neighbour Nils (Thierry Frémont), who introduces him to hunting, the silent Jean enters a circle of revenge after having been unjustly thrown out of his home. And in an environment where killing animals for pleasure is unheard of, the young man will find out why "we should never leave the group."

A secret hangs over the family, jealousy ignites violence, the water source is cut off, and bullets fly, plunging the family and the audience into a fearful darkness. All the while Jean hovers over the nearby mountain, aiming a stolen rifle at his house. Will he pull the trigger? Will he kill? When? Who?

The End of Silence is a study of a family, haunted by a sin from the past (special mention goes to Swiss actor Carlo Brandt, who plays the father), that nurtures silence to the breaking point. Breathtaking landscapes, a beautiful mastery of the forest scenes and sequences of violent and sudden outbursts, detailed sound work (birds, creaking sounds, breathing) and the music lend the film an amply intriguing style, making up for the slightly erratic rhythm and a drop in strength before the end, which appears to be a poor attempt at a modern western.

In provincial France where people never speak about the future, very little about the present and even less about the dark place that is the past, and where living conditions are precarious, youth, as incarnated by Jean and his brother Luc (biblical reference), still suffers for the mistakes of the parents, as in an never-ending curse.

(Translated from French)