Highly Overrated But Still Good

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The scenery is nice, the camera-work is good. The casting and the acting are excellent. It's a carefully crafted story and perhaps this movie is, as some have claimed it to be, a wonderful study in psychology but as it also contains some totally unnecessary animal abuse I now feel tainted from having watched it. If I'd known about the ill treatment in advance I wouldn't have watched it.

Young Louis and his family live in a nice neighbourhood in the picturesque village of Sidi Ifni on the Moroccan coast. His father suffers from severe depression, the impact of which is not fully appreciated by his mother or older brother. His father refuses to get help and withdraws totally into his office where he spends his days working, or more often brooding in silence. One day he shares a secret with Louis after swearing him to secrecy. This terrible secret would have a profound impact on Louis' once happy life. From now on the boy would shadow his father, with major ramifications for the boy.The title refers to a French poem, as well as the role that Louis tries to play in his father's life.This is in every respect a well-crafted film. The drama unfolding at home is handled with restraint and subtlety, the acting by Martin Nissen (Louis) and Olivier Gourmet (his father), in particular, is truly outstanding. Their body language and facial expressions say more than words could do. The cinematography is imaginative and reflects the troubled nature of the subject matter. Indeed, the camera-work is some of the best I had seen in quite some time. The soundtrack should be mentioned too, with haunting North African melodies adding to the melancholic ambiance of this outstanding film. 9/10.

Though there were certainly some visually beautiful and emotionally strong moments in this film, its theme may not be ultimately fulfilling for all viewers. Maybe it appeals more to people closer to the boy's age, rather than the father's. It was hard to accept that the father bestowed such a terrible secret upon his son, and harder to imagine that the son would keep that secret, when breaking his silence might have been of help to his father. By the end, I was hoping the father would make good his threat and end everybody's pain--his own, his son's, mine, and by now his family's as well, since the son's behavior in watching over his father and trying to keep it a secret was further disrupting the family (of course, the father's suicide would have had other tragic consequences for the children, but that would have been a different movie). The end--though maybe seen by some as a twist--was not a surprise and provided neither resolution nor satisfaction. I can see why some would be drawn into this film. I wasn't.

I saw Angel at Sea at the Karlovy Vary film festival this year and knew immediately this film should definitely be among the finalists for the Crystal Globe. So when the film took the prize in the end, I felt the jury chose the best picture adequately.Set in sunny Morocco, the film tells a story about a family of an EU lawyer relocated there and especially focuses on the relationship of a twelve-year old boy Louis with his manic-depressive father. When the father tells Louis that he plans to commit suicide one day and makes the boy keep it secret between the two of them, a special relationship between them develops with Louis doing all he can not to let his father slip away while the rest of the family has trouble grasping what is going on.Dumont shot this film partially based on his own experience with his father and that is indisputably one of the reasons why it feels to real and honest. However, there is much more that makes the film an unforgettable and unnerving experience. From a wonderful photography, scenes that are so visually and artistically spot on in every frame, the right pace of the film that never lets you breath out during the entire film, and performances of all the actors, the film is a diamond-like masterpiece, an excellent psychological study where you can hardly find a weak spot.An excellent directorial debut for Dumont, and I'm looking forward to see more from this promising director.