Le Fils de Joseph (The Son of Joseph)

13^th October 2016 6.15pm at Ciné Lumière
14^th October 2016 3.15pm at ICA Cinema

Le Fils de Joseph (The Son of Joseph) is a new artistic film by French-American filmmaker Eugène Green. In this movie, he has likewise taken the opportunity to use some familiar faces from his prior work, and we get to see the likes of Natacha Régnier, Mathieu Amalric, and Fabrizio Rongione perform again.

It is a fine feature about a peculiar boy named Vincent (the young, promising talent, Victor Ezenfis) who practices stealing without doing so. He is angry at his mother, Marie (Régnier), for her lifelong neglect of mentioning the identity of his father. After he discovers it, Vincent ventures into the life of the man, Oscar Pormenor (Amalric), an absolutely callous publicist who is unaware of having children with his estranged wife. Vincent also meets and befriends his Uncle Joseph who becomes romantically acquainted with Marie, making it obvious what inspired this movie.

Le Fils de Joseph (The Son of Joseph) is divided into chapters with references to the Bible. Vincent, obsessed with the story of Abraham, has a copy of the Caravaggio painting, Sacrificio d’Isacco, gracing his bedroom wall. Church music is used, telling scenes happen in places of worship and conversations have deeply religious meanings.

The aesthetic of the feature is also incredibly satisfying: the majority of the scenes are perfectly composed, and this seems to have found its influence in the art of the Baroque period. The colours that distinguish themselves are blue and brown specifically, which are brought to the fore by use of tranquil lighting. The dialogue in this film likewise has a penchant for being amusing and is characterised by perfect, almost aloof diction and sometimes utter snobbishness. When an individual character is speaking, the camera is positioned directly at them, as to create the illusion of a portrait.

While the narrative of Le Fils de Joseph (The Son of Joseph) has a tendency to be strange, this surreality does not fail the movie. You are aware from the beginning that it is going to be bizarre. It is a painting in constant motion rather than a traditional film, and that is what makes it so appealing.

Kim Varod

Le Fils de Joseph (The Son of Joseph) does not have a UK release date yet.

For further information about the 60^th London Film Festival visit here.

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Watch the trailer for Le Fils de Joseph (The Son of Joseph) here: