DNA – ADN (2020)

Directed by: Maiwenn | 90 minutes | drama, history | Actors: Fanny Ardant, Louis Garrel, Dylan Robert, Marine Vacth, Caroline Chaniolleau, Alain Françon, Florent Lacger, Henri-Noël Tabary, Omar Marwan, Maïwenn

The life of Maïwenn (in full: Maïwenn Le Besco) has been set in the world of film and theater since she was young. Her French-Algerian mother Catherine Belkhodja had her audition as a toddler and at the age of only five the young Maïwenn played her first role, in ‘L’année prochaine… si tout va bien’ (1981). Two years later, she starred alongside Isabelle Adjani and François Cluzet in ‘L’été meurtrier’ (1983), the second best-attended film in France of that year. At the age of twelve she met Luc Besson, seventeen years her senior, whom she married at sixteen (!) and had a daughter before her seventeenth birthday. Maïwenn has said that her relationship with Besson was the inspiration for Besson’s hit film ‘Léon: The Professional’ from 1994 (in which she herself plays a supporting role). She also appeared in ‘The Fifth Element’ (1997), after which Besson ran off with Milla Jovovich and Maïwenn returned to France. After a short period as a stand-upper, during which she looked back with humor on her life so far, she turned again to the film world, where she showed herself a versatile talent not only in front of it, but also behind the scenes.

‘DNA’ (or ‘ADN’ in French) from 2020 is the fifth film to be directed by Maïwenn, after her debut ‘Pardonnez-Moi’ (2006) and the acclaimed social drama ‘Polisse’ (2011). As is often the case, she herself plays one of the leading roles and the story is lively and strongly autobiographical. Central themes in ‘DNA’ are family, grieving and the search for one’s own identity. Neige (Maïwenn) has no idea who she really is or how she relates to her relatives, and that becomes painfully clear when her grandfather Emir (Omar Fellah) passes away. The old man fought for an independent Algeria in the distant past and the memories of that time are the only ones that the man with dementia still had clearly in his mind. Grandpa turned out to be the only one who managed to keep his descendants together somewhat, because the family soon disintegrated after his passing. There appears to be quite a bit of old hurt between the family members and the pent up frustrations and brewing conflicts rear up one after the other. Neige has always been close to her grandfather, but doubt sets in when she considers how well she actually knew him. She tries to avert her identity crisis by delving into her family’s past and believes she can find the answer to her questions in Algeria.

Family relationships are central to ‘DNA’, but it’s quite a mess. All we know is that we are dealing with three generations and that their ethnic background plays a role. In itself, the troubled history between Algeria and former conqueror France provides an interesting backdrop for a multicultural family drama, but ‘DNA’ raises more questions than answers or visions. The conflicts in Neige’s family regularly run high in the energetically filmed confrontations, but what exactly they serve remains a mystery. The mutual family ties – how one character relates to another – remain a big question mark for a long time. In any case, Neige’s relationship with her parents is not very good; the mother played by Fanny Ardant is a jealous, manipulative and authoritarian bitch and her father is a hard-core egoist. Why her ex (Louis Garrel) still hangs out in this dysfunctional family is remarkable, although it is nice for the viewer because he at least provides the necessary lightness. Because the individuals may be emotionally damaged, if we’re honest it’s just an unsympathetic bunch of vain things we’re looking at.

The fact that Maïwenn, who wrote the screenplay at lightning speed together with Mathieu Demy, gave her actors plenty of space to fill in the scenes as they wish, based on only brief descriptions, means that the scenes do not always flow smoothly into each other. that a number of storylines remain indefinable and that the actors are acting more than they get into the skin of their character. Happiness in an accident is that they are played by people like Ardant, Garrel, Marine Vacth and Dylan Robert, who are fine to watch, even if you are annoyed by the lack of grip in the film. Maïwenn has indicated that she made ‘DNA’ as a snack, pending financing for a much larger film about Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV. She gave herself three weeks, limited resources and a small crew and stayed close to herself for the story. Then you may not expect a high flyer. But a film that gives so few answers and leaves the viewer guessing as to why Neige thinks she can find her answers in Algeria, especially with this cast, is a disappointment.