Review L’Envol – Review on FilmTotaal
Director: Pedro Marcelo | Script: Alexander Grin, Maurizio Braucci, Pietro Marcello | Cast: Raphaël Thiéry (Raphael), Juliette Jouan (Juliette), Noémie Lvovsky (Madame Adeline), Louis Garrel (Jean), others | Time to play: 100 minutes | Year: 2022
Flight It begins with the rugged Raphaël, who returns to his village as a war veteran in 1919. Upon arriving home, he meets Adeline, a woman who has cared for Raphaël’s daughter, Juliette, all along. Raphaël’s wife, Marie, died in her absence. There’s not much time to cry, there’s money to be made. With his large, strong hands, Raphaël can transform any piece of wood into a beautiful work of art. He then he started working as a carpenter.
He’s a big gentle giant who otherwise keeps a low profile, but still notices the villagers staring at him. Juliette is rumored not to be his baby. To make matters worse, Adeline is rumored to be a sorceress. She messed with spells and potions and herbs. She ignores vague gossip and tries to make ends meet as best she can.
At first glance, the robust Raphaël carries the narrative on his shoulders. Pietro Marcello gradually shifts the focus to Juliette, who grows up to be a strong-willed young woman. She composes songs on the piano, reads poetry and helps Raphaël with his work when necessary. Because Juliette is the daughter of the ‘enchantress’ Adeline, the villagers keep their distance from her.
Marcello also points the camera at the changing world. In the years 1919 to 1936, the time span of FlightAfter all, enough has happened in the field of technology. For years, Raphaël made wooden toys with which he could earn some money, but if today everything can move, like an electric train, then children no longer buy a boring wooden doll. And then there is the aviator Jean, who crashes his plane near the town. You can bet that Juliette finds that flying machine (and adventurer Jean) very interesting.
This film is designed to immerse yourself, to disappear in it, to enjoy the details in which Marcello gets closer. Naturally, he interweaves nature and archival images with drama, creating a visual poetry that transports the viewer into a world filled with fantasies, dreams, desires, and bitter reality. Raphaël Thiéry, a well-known off-camera visual artist, is a joy to watch with his weathered face.
Maybe it could have been a little deeper Flight is a beautiful moving film with a meditative effect. It’s also nice how Marcello starts with the big and friendly Raphaël and concludes the story with Juliette. For its content rhythm Flight well suited for the viewer who craves something other than today’s hyperactive blockbusters.