Stubborn and determined are two words for the same thing, the difference being only whether one considers the person being so described as foolish. French national treasure Isabelle Huppert plays the perhaps fool in Claire Denis’s understated drama. The story takes place in an unnamed African country—Denis was raised in a number of former French colonies—that is undergoing an increasingly violent civil war. Urged to leave by French officials and others, she nonetheless insists on remaining on the family’s coffee plantation and completing the harvest. Even the sudden departure of her employees does not deter her.
This is the kind of movie where the drama builds slowly. It’s a very quiet movie, with stretches with no dialogue. The violence that takes place is mostly off screen, though that makes the ending more of a shock. Politics is not part of the story. Race is, of course, as the title suggests, but it is as subtext. The movie is about a white character who has raised her son in Africa, and though she is not noticeably racist, or even elitist, her outlook is inevitably one of privilege, which comes both from her race and her background. It’s even more apparent in her lazy son, who seems even less aware of the foreshadowed danger. And of course, the black people are the most aware of this status difference. The drama might have been a little richer had the story allowed more of their point of view into the story.
IMDB link
viewed at Ritz Bourse and reviewed 12/22/10
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