Intermission [Video]

By Omeleto

Offered since 2010, MyFrenchFilmFestival showcases the breathtaking diversity and quality of contemporary French cinema. Omeleto is proud to partner with UniFrance to highlight short film selections from the collection, which range from charming children’s animations to gritty psychodramas to quietly resonant family narratives. No matter what the genre, this group of shorts highlights the creative risk-taking and emotional depth that makes French cinematic art uniquely vibrant.

Yacine and his friends can’t wait to see the latest installment of the Fast & Furious franchise in theaters. The problem? These teenagers don’t have enough money for all of them to see the movie at the multiplex in the high-rise suburb where they live.

Instead, they contrive to pay for the cheaper “cine-club” film selection, Vittorio De Sica’s acclaimed Italian neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief, a black-and-white film about a poor father searching Rome for his stolen bicycle. From there, they will sneak into Fast & Furious 8, a much more exciting and fun prospect to watch. But for Yacine, a strategy to see the latest blockbuster turns into an experience that will change his life.

Written and directed by Anthony Lemaitre, this affectionate, amiable short comedy about a young man who discovers, quite by accident, a source of comfort and revelation and a newfound passion. The writing has no gags, bits, overly artificial banter or farce to generate laughs. Instead, its humor is found in its characters, and how they try to navigate the absurdities of everyday life. Its resonance comes from the careful building of character and gentle observation of how life-changing moments can often be the quietest ones of all.

The group of teenage boys has a ragged, easygoing rapport, full of ribbing one another. But Yacine’s somewhat troubled family is gently hinted at, in the form of a father getting on his case to get his life together. With his friends, though, he can focus instead on trying to get into the theater for free.

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They try all kinds of gambits, and much humor arises as they try to BS their way into the theater complex. The group dynamic is unforced but very amusing, especially as a few of them are slow on the uptake. The ensemble performance between the young cast — actor Ilies Kadri as Yacine and actors Titouan Labbe and Ahmed Abdel-Laoui as his friends — has a rapport that is genuine and quite sweet, especially as they talk to Yacine about his issues.

The core of the film, though, is found in the inclusion of footage from The Bicycle Thief into the film itself, and Yacine’s reactions to the film. The footage focuses on the complex relationship between the young boy and his father, and it resonates deeply with Yacine, who finds the realism genuine and compelling. The scene with the cine-club discussion afterward is quietly but deeply funny, but also quite moving, showing how stories can connect people, and ourselves, to our deepest emotions.

The visuals of “Intermission,” much like the film it pays tribute to, have a realist feel, with a simplicity in framing, movement and editing aimed at capturing the poetics of everyday life — an approach much like Italian neorealist cinema itself. Neorealist cinema was innovative because it created moving, extraordinary stories about ordinary, often working-class and their humble lives. Something about seeing people not unlike himself onscreen moves Yacine, helping him look at his life differently and expanding his sense of self in the process.

Transcript provided by YouTube: