'Witnesses' delves into tragedy of AIDS in '80s
Andre Techine, one of the best contemporary French writer-directors, is at his most nakedly emotional in "The Witnesses," a three-act drama about the AIDS crisis in the early '80s.
The movie has an intelligence and empathy that are a welcome relief from superficiality and formulas. And, as usual with Techine, it offers really juicy parts to some of France's excellent stars: the gnomish sad-eyed clown Michel Blanc (here at his most serious), Moroccan actor Sami Bouajila (of the powerful war movie "Days of Glory") and that radiant belle de jour Emmanuelle Beart, whose special blonde beauty has rarely seemed more poignant or affecting.
Beart plays Sarah, a star of children's literature, now trying to write adult fiction, who has recently had her first child with husband Mehdi (Bouajila), a vice squad cop with a roving eye.
Blanc plays Adrien, an art-loving gay doctor and Sarah's best friend. Adrien falls in love in the park with Manu (Johan Libereau), a carefree teenager of seemingly irresistible charm, whose sister Julie (Julie Depardieu), is a classical singer living in a hotel full of prostitutes. (The hotel is a target for Mehdi.)
When Manu and Mehdi also pair off, the circle becomes two interlocking triangles -- and the stage is set for the tragedy that will ensue when the plague hits in the second act.
Techine specializes in psychological romantic dramas ("Wild Reeds," "My Favorite Season") and this is one of his best works. It's a film in which we can feel his deep involvement, one which moves from sunny eroticism to bleak horror and grief with such agility and compassion that we never spot an author's message surfacing -- though several are certainly there.
Thoughtful and passionate, this movie is one for smart, feeling audiences.
French director puts spotlight on AIDS in the '80s
"The Witnesses"
3½ stars
Starring: Michel Blanc, Emmanuelle Beart and Sami Bouajila.
Directed and written by Andre Techine.
Other: A Strand Releasing release. No MPAA rating. In French with English subtitles. 112 minutes. Opens today at the Music Box Theatre, Chicago.