No. 56 (2022) THE PASSENGERS OF THE NIGHT (Revelation Film Festival, Perth W.A. 2022) July 16th.

 

Film No. 56  (2022) July 16th.  7:00  PM  LUNA  Essex Cinemas,  Fremantle.

"You're like a little bird. Did anybody tell you?" (Elisabeth makes the analogy while in deep conversation with Talulah).

A whimsical love letter to his home city. Mikhael Hers captures Paris in the 80's through the eyes of Elisabeth (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her devoted family, as they deal with a series of life challenges including: recovery from breast cancer, unemployment, and a messy divorce. But it is never bleak.

The travails of the Davies' are told over a decade. Gainsbourg plays Elisabeth with a unique charm and quietness as she finds a low paid but fulfilling job at the control desk of a public radio station. She welcomes the listeners (Passengers of the Night) to the talk-back format of late evening. Her relationship with son Mathias (Quito Rayon Richter) daughter Judith (Megan Northam) takes on another dimension as she "adopts" fragile street-girl Talulah, played beautifully by Noee Abita. Is Talulah simply a fragile bird who can return to a fulfilling life?

A non-mainstream delight for cinema lovers looking to appreciate competent film-making of a quiet style. Director Hers was both bowled over and chuffed at his film's nomination for a Golden Bear gong at the most recent Berlin Film Festival. I thoroughly enjoyed being marinated in the juices that LES PASSENGERS steeped me in. 10GUMS.