Impardonnables (2011)

Directed by: André Techine | 111 minutes | drama | Actors: André Dussollier, Carole Bouquet, Mélanie Thierry, Adriana Asti, Mauro Conte, Alexis Loret, Zoé Duthion, Sandra Toffolatti, Andrea Pergolesi

The aging French womanizer/writer Francis comes to Venice for peace and inspiration. He looks for a room with three windows, one of which faces east, but the female real estate agent has a much better offer: a house on the remote island of Sant’ Erasmo. Without really liking it, but deeply impressed by the estate agent that is at least a generation younger, he decides to look at the house. “Fine, I’ll do it,” he replies, “provided you move in with me.” “You’re crazy, you don’t even know me!” is her response.

‘Impardonnables’, by the French director and screenwriter André Téchiné, then jumps forward a year and a half (not the only time that periods are skipped): Francis and Judith – the real estate agent – ​​are now married and Judith gets in a boat. Francis’ daughter Alice and granddaughter Vicky op. Not long after, Alice disappears without a trace. Unable to concentrate on his work, Francis sends a private investigator to find out where his daughter is. That private detective, Anna Maria, who makes a bottle of vodka a day soldier, used to have a relationship with the so bisexual Judith. Everything indicates that Alice has reconnected with her great love, the drug-dealing aristocrat Alvise, with whom Judith once also spent a night. Or not, she’s not sure anymore. Meanwhile, we also meet the recently released son of Anna Maria, Jérémie. Francis’s infatuated feelings have now given way to jealousy. Suspecting that Judith has a lover, he pays Jérémie to shadow her. With all its consequences.

In ‘Impardonnables’, a film adaptation of Philippe Djian’s book, Téchiné paints a portrait of people who are unable to be happy, but who long for it with all their hearts. Unfortunately, they only excel at making a mess of their own lives and the lives of those around them. Various themes are reviewed: one has a fear of commitment, the other an addiction, too much ambition, jealousy, parenting problems, aggressiveness…. The characters are convincingly portrayed by a solid acting cast across the board. Because the protagonists are so unpredictable, you never know what their next step is and because some characters are not averse to using violence, there is a hidden tension in the scenes. Although the story is not inferior to an average episode from a soap, it is the characters that take center stage and not the events themselves. As a result, some storylines feel unfinished and therefore unsatisfactory. It is also difficult to find one really sympathetic character with whom the viewer will gladly identify. In addition, credibility is sometimes hard to find. What exactly Judith sees in the much older Francis is not clear; Conversely, it’s easy to see why a woman-devouring old man like Francis falls for this independent, worldly-wise woman. The way Alice’s disappearance is woven into the story also feels a bit forced, especially the outcome of Anna Maria’s investigation.

‘Impardonnables’ does benefit from the setting: Venice from the less touristy side. It must be a pleasure to film there and that is reflected in the attractive camera work. This in combination with the good acting and the fascinating themes means that ‘Impardonnables’ scores just a sufficient.