A GREAT FRIEND/ LES CHOSES SIMPLES, France, 2023. Starring Lambert Wilson, Gregory Gadebois, Marie Gillain. Directed by Eric Besnard. 95 minutes. Rated PG (Mild themes, violence, sexual references and coarse language)
Two titles but with very different emphases. On the one hand, we are expecting to see a growing friendship between two rather different characters – and this happens. On the other hand, there is a prologue starting with plankton and early forms of life in the sea building up to enormous complexities in the cosmos, on earth, and humans building our contemporary world which is far from the simple things of the French title.
By the end of the film, having shared the journey with the two men, having observed the complexities of modern life as well as possible escapes to the simple things, we have been asked to think about our own lives; what is of value, what we can let go of, what do we really want with our lives.
The film opens in the majestic scenery of the Alps – scenery we contemplate throughout the film. An impatient businessman, Vincent (played by veteran actor Wilson), seemingly stranded when his car breaks down on a remote road, but a biker, Pierre (Gadebois who can be seen in a very different role in The Sitting Duck) a gruff loner, offers to help.
Vincent, in fact, is one of the huge movers and shakers in French society, even on an international level. With experience of some solitude in the mountains, sharing a meal with Pierre, we might wonder whether this is going to be something of an equivalent of a Camino experience, a pilgrim alone in the countryside, discovering his inner self. Well, not quite.
In fact, while Vincent is exactly what he seems, Pierre is not. And, however unlikely it seems at the beginning of the film, with a great deal of sparring and moments of antagonism, there will be a friendship. One of the means of opening up the friendship is Vincent’s discovery that Pierre looks after his widowed sister-in-law, his niece, and does have some social life – and charm. On the other hand, while Vincent’s charm is often obvious, he is a much more devious character.
Yes, this is the story of a friendship which might eventually be great. But, it is also a questioning of contemporary values, life in our busy cutthroat world – and the need for some kind of simplicity, discovering what are those simple things.
Limelight
Released 6 June