FNC’08 Review: A Lake

Philippe Grandrieux is a fairly well known name in modern avant-garde French art and cinema circles. Director of the dark film Sombre and La vie nouvelle, he has also recently directed a music video for Marilyn Manson showing his capability of entering mainstream media. Yet, his latest film Un lac demonstrates that his heart is still in the art-house circuit. The ninety-minute film is a tough one to watch: it differs both visually and orally from most films. The result is a fairy-tale like film that will likely divide its audience like any piece of art: that this one didn’t speak to me is just the nature of the beast.

Alexi in his usual state

To start with the positive: the scenery in the film, a remote wintry forest surrounded by craggy mountains, is stunning. The wildness of these images, in which snow sweeps across a frozen lake, accentuates the barbarous living conditions of the central characters: a dysfunctional family that lives in a light-less wooden cabin. Alexi and Hege are brother and sister. Alexi suffers from frequent seizures and spends his days cutting wood. Their relationship borders on the incestuous as Alexi whispers to her and needs constant physical contact. Though never stated in the film, their mother is blind - a fact that can be gathered by watching her movements. The narrative is quite simple: A man named Jurgen appears and decides to help cut the wood, whilst forming a sexual relationship with Hege. Also positive is that, like all good art, Un lac keeps a consistent tone and feel from beginning to end.

It is precisely the tone and feel that turned me off as a viewer, though I could appreciate the achieved effect. Most shots are entirely out of focus or so dark that actions are hard to make out. There are no more than ten lines of dialogue throughout the film, all of which sound unnatural (at one point Alexi turns to his sister and mutters: “Hege, you are my sister… And I, I am your brother”. Sounds are over-amplified so that every breath and every touch can be heard. Breathing and touching are Un lac’s principal dialogue. My personal reasoning is that they were brought up by a blind mother, though this hardly explains why they wouldn’t talk more. Like the visuals, the intentions and thoughts of the characters are blurry, especially Alexi who seems to be in a constant trance. Even the choice of using non-French actors speaking French was an odd one. It is in his choice to keep Un lac consistent where Philippe Grandrieux will likely gain some more tenure as an artist with this film, but it certainly won’t work for everyone. It didn’t work for me.

Hege takes in the forest