Les diables (2002)

Directed by: Christophe Ruggia | 105 minutes | drama | Actors: Adele Haenel, Vincent Rottiers, Rochdy Labidi, Jacques Bonnaffé, Aurélia Petit, Galamelah Lagra, Dominique Reymond, Frédéric Pierrot, Danielle Ambry, Azouz Begag, Omar Bekhaled, Laurence Cormerais, Laurent Dallias, Amaury Delobre, Khereddine Sabrina Fernasri Brahim Frihi, Mehdi Laribi, Yves Lecat, Nathalie Legros, Ricky Martin, Sigolène Moulin, François Négret, Mouloud Rezig, Elisa Rochette, Jean-Claude Varlet, Marylin Vignon, Bernard Villanueva

Where director Christophe Ruggia got these children is a mystery. The casting must have been a hell of a job, because you’ll find kids who can play this! Well done, but also the directing is excellent. The only thing you can hope is that they, the children, don’t get stuck in it a bit, after filming. Because these roles are intense, even for adult actors. Here you have to get the most out of it and then go one step further. And that is what 16-year-old Vincent Rottiers do, as do his co-star Adele Haenel, who, as Chloë, plays a role with her silence and autistic behavior that many adult actors can still suck at. Her brother is also very believable from start to finish, in a role that is characterized by pain and more pain, intense.

‘Les Diables’ is a disturbing film. Mostly realistic, although he does cross the line a few times, such as the raid on the institution where sister Chloë is locked up, not to mention the dance for the prisoners. Two beautiful, almost dreamy scenes, but they stand out a bit in the otherwise realistic setting. At one point, the film seems to derail and almost turns out to be ‘Natural Born Killers’ with the kids as a criminal couple. Fortunately, that exit is ultimately not taken and the beautiful denouement puts us back on the ground. Anyone who is going to see this film should prepare for a heavy drama. The rating 12 years and older is a bit on the low side, not because of sexual innuendo at the end, on the contrary, it is very intimate and loving and not because of the physical violence. No, mainly because of the emotional violence that blasts off the screen.

The music score is not really striking, but this film doesn’t need that either. So no unnecessary sentiment, no fleeing in cinematic romance (except for the moments mentioned above). A great credit to the filmmakers, who have sought and found controversy with this film. Here we are shown a lesson in humanity that you say ‘you’ to. About adults and their mistakes and their consequences, about fidelity (to the bone), about selfishness and stubbornness. A story that swings you back and forth from one judgment to the next and doesn’t send you home with the answers at the end, too bad. And a lesson in pure, unabashed cinema in which existing taboos about what can and cannot be done in film are flouted and children are taken for granted. Only downside: the title, which hits the spot, otherwise a special film.=