Le Pressentiment

Well-known French actor Jean-Pierre Darroussin adapted and directed this early work of writer Emmanuel Bove, who also made a name for himself in Italy and in Germany thanks to Peter Handke and Wim Wenders. Both the novel and the film tell the story of a successful Parisian attorney, Charles Benesteau, who one day abandons his family and his career and takes a modest flat in an immigrant quarter. He wants to be able to write in peace there and begin living a different life from the hectic, snobbish and inauthentic existence he has known until now. Charles tries to be a good neighbour, but his accommodating actions lead to more than a few harsh surprises and bitter disappointments, particularly where the family of young Tomasz is concerned. The film is the story of a man trying - with mixed results - to gain control over his life, to stop time and experience simple happiness. On the social level the film does not aim to be a fairytale about purely proletarian values, but is able to reflect this world with openness and show its persistent, almost insurmountable problems. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)