Last night, as part of the D-Caf Festival, we watched the French film Disorder at Zawya, directed and co-written by Alice Winocour. The film stars Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger (whom most will remember from Inglorious Basterds, Troy and Mr. Nobody). The film so far has been nominated for an Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Bronze Horse at the Stockholm Film Festival.
Winocour’s film is definitely one to ponder over. While its pace might seem a little slow at certain parts, it certainly picks up eventually, and when it’s done, it’s definitely worth the wait. Matthias Schoenaerts plays the character of Vincent Loreau, a soldier who can’t wait to get back in the field after his return from Afghanistan. The political side to this is implied throughout the film, especially when he finds out he will be working as a body guard for Emad Walid, a powerful Lebanese man. When Emad hires Vincent to work for him, his attention is immediately drawn to Emad’s suspicious behavior and the seedy conversations taking place at the party he is hired to protect, parts of said conversation implies the involvement of a French minister in Emad’s seemingly dirty business. The next day, Loreau is asked to stay as Walid’s family’s body guard until he returns from his travels.
“While its pace might seem a little slow at certain parts, it certainly picks up eventually, and when it’s done, it’s definitely worth the wait.”
Walid’s wife, Jessie (played by Diane Kruger), and Walid’s son live quietly with Loreau for the first day. That is, until the repercussions of Walid’s immoral work start to become an immediate threat to their lives. This is where Loreau must step in and protect the family he has grown to care for.
Loreau’s angst and his struggle between wanting to care for someone, while struggling with his own demons, was immaculately shown on screen. The character is ridden with anxiety and it is shown most beautifully with the use of the film’s phenomenal sound mixing. Watching the film, the soundtrack and sound effects gave us a peek into what it’s like to be inside Loreau’s head. It was spectacularly unsettling.
“Loreau’s angst and his struggle between wanting to care for someone, while struggling with his own demons, was immaculately shown on screen.”
As always, Kruger’s performance was effortlessly moving, and Schoenaerts did quite a decent job trying to make the audience empathize with a character whose physical and emotional scars run so deep, they only start truly showing up at the very end of the film.
“The character is ridden with anxiety and it is shown most beautifully with the use of the film’s phenomenal sound mixing.”
All in all, Disorder was an enjoyable experience. While it could have been shorter and still been just as good, or perhaps even better, it was still a very moving film, which packs quite a punch at the end.
To learn more about the D-Caf Festival, visit their website http://d-caf.org/