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In a bizarrely amusing touch, Lemercier even plays Aline as a Barbra Streisand-obsessed pre-teen. Then as she ages, the actress creates a character with a huge personality, a love of life and close bonds with her enormous family. Of course there's also that singular physicality, which Lemercier aces. The film is so tightly centred on Aline that other characters only occasionally come into focus within her orbit. The strongest side roles are for Marcel and Fichaud, as both Guy-Claude and Sylvette are steady presences through the years.

The script moves though Aline's life at a brisk pace, leaping through the years but never rushing through key moments. In embracing this character with all her quirks, Lemercier makes us fall in love with Celine Dion all over again. Even as the movie lampoons her offbeat style of stardom, wind machine-fuelled stage performances and hyper-rich Las Vegas lifestyle, she remains thoroughly likeable. This creates a series of moving scenes in the final half-hour as she begins to reclaim her life from the demands of her career.

themes, language

6.Apr.22

Dore's slight, lean physicality adeptly conveys Bruno's soft-spoken manner, murderous thoughts and crippling fear. This is an unconfident teen who has been routinely bullied for being poor, so is it a surprise that he longs to subjugate his tormentors? Dore's subtle, devastating performance is astonishing, quietly revealing Bruno's arousal at thoughts of killing classmates he's attracted to. Or desperately seeking an ordinary, pure life as a priest. What emerges is a staggeringly resonant depiction of repression and prejudice that exist today.

Le Port's nuanced direction knowingly catches details without overstating the themes. It's also packed with heart-stopping moments of horror, such as encounters in the woods between Bruno and golden-boy seminarian Blondel (Vigier) or neighbour boy Francois, randomly selected to be his first victim. Bruno knows that this urge is awful, but he has to do something with how insulted and marginalised he feels. Even if he only gets 10 seconds of pleasure. This is unnerving and revelatory filmmaking.

themes, violence

20.Mar.22 flare

The actors skilfully highlight the knotty interaction between the characters. Ko's Fei struggles as he tries to rewrite the rules of love, only allowing himself to cut loose and be himself in the film's final shot. His guilt often feels unnerving, in contrast to how Bai's Long lives unapologetically, endearingly wearing away at Fei's cynicism. Their connection is so sweet that the return of Lin's charismatic Xiaolai feels like a gut-punch. And Maayan is simply amazing in three key female roles.

Throughout the story, Yi adds pungent observations about the complexity of attraction, including the impact of the illusions these men deploy to make sex for pay bearable. But then, as one observes, who doesn't sell themselves to live? Reflecting this idea into the characters' genuine feelings is often painful to watch, as they seem to be using each other to find something missing in their lives. Which of course makes the film a powerful statement about people who are harshly pushed into the margins. This also astutely twists the overriding theme that you have to be happy to make someone happy.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

21.Mar.22 flare