White Material

Image courtesy of incitatus.org

What: Film.
Director: Claire Denis.
Actors: Isabelle Huppert, Isaach De Bankole, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Christopher Lambert.
Where: Soho Screening Rooms, London.

Claire Denis returns to Africa for her impeccably acted, beautifully shot, if slightly flawed latest film. A strong French / African cast perform well to a superbly scored, if not perfectly written, harrowing story of colonial heartbreak, revolution and violent rebel uprising.

Isabelle Huppert, President of the Jury at last years Cannes film festival, plays a defiant French coffee plantation owner who, despite civil war and warnings for French nationals to leave the country, is determined to complete the harvest of her current crop. Combining true natural beauty with the kind of work ethic that Alan Sugar demands of one of his new recruits, she nails a kind of industrious chic that, it seems, only a French actor could get this right.

Her character, Maria, is the fulcrum of the film and she credibly and quickly switches between elegance and endeavour as she fights to keep her business in the black. One minute she’s gliding (and sometimes running) through this beautiful rural African setting wearing delicate boutique clothing and painted nails, the next she’s digging a hole with her bare hands in the dry African soil to bury a goats head. That’s true Lara Croft come Carrie Bradshaw but with an elegant French twist that makes it impossible to take your eyes off her.

Image courtesy of zimbio.com

The familiar face of Ivorian actor Isaach De Bankolé, who has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such as Miami Vice, Casino Royale and Coffee and Cigarettes as well as episodes of 24 and The Sopranoes, pops up again as the character of ‘The Boxer’, who is the rebel’s missing leader. Strong performances from Christopher Lambert and Nicolos Duvauchelle add a further depth to this story even if the speed of Duvanchelle’s character’s growth from harmless layabout to psychotic maverick seems a little non-organic.

This, at times disturbing work, isn’t as commercial as Denis’ last film (35 Shots of Rum) and includes deeply atmospheric scenes involving young children carrying and using weapons. The sight and behaviour of these child soldiers and the shockingly realistic use of these weapons throughout is one of the big factors in keeping the viewer strapped in for the 100 minutes it takes for this film to unwind. The other is the fate of the resilient Maria who seems almost unmoved as chaos ensues around her. An involving build-up hands over to only a somewhat satisfying finale as one twist too few slightly tarnishes this interesting work.

Rating: 6/10
Comments: Not her best, but Denis' work is always intriguing.