Vendredi ou un autre jour (2005)

Directed by: Yvan Le Moine | 120 minutes | adventure | Actors: Philippe Nahon, Alain Moraïda, Ornella Muti, Hanna Schygulla, Philippe Grand’Henry, Manuela Servais, Idwig Stephane, Jean-Yves Thual

‘Vendredi ou un autre jour’ is based on the novel “Vendredi ou le limbes du Pacifique” by Michel Tournier. This adaptation of that story is an unpolished nihilistic variant of the well-known Robinson Crusoe story, with a more emphatic role for the character Vrijdag.
The story is set in the eighteenth century where the celebrated French theater actor Philippe de Nohan (Philippe Nahon) is shipwrecked and the only surviving drowning person washes ashore on a rugged inhospitable island. Thanks to the items that were rescued from the sunken ship, he manages to survive. With washed up costumes and theater sets, he builds his own French theater in this deserted corner. A remarkable image full of expressiveness.

He is haunted by memories of his mother (Ornella Muti) and of his successes as a theater actor. Fortunately, there is still the ship’s dog Tenn to keep him company. As in the authentic story, he saves Friday from the cannibals. After long years of total solitude, he is joined by a man from another civilization. Initially, however, there is no question of friendship, the Frenchman dominates the relationship between the two with a patriarchal hard hand. Colonialism is imitated in miniature on the island. Slowly but surely, the almost hateful relationship begins to cool. Philippe de Nohan sees how easy Friday can save himself on the poor island. Hatred gives way to admiration and at the same time he realizes more and more how insincere life was behind the facade of the culture he left behind.

The acting is phenomenal. The main character is torn by rage and insane rage, a role Phillipe Nahon has been entrusted with given his appearance in controversial films such as Seul contre Tous, Irreversible, Haute Tension and Calvaire. With the role of Vrijdag, Alain Moraïda makes an impressive debut.

The camera follows Nahon closely, so that the character shift from lonely and furious ruler in his deserted kingdom to a chastened and even loving man has a powerful impact. The island is rugged and inaccessible but also contains heavenly hidden spots and is thus metaphorical for the psychological development of the castaway. Equipped with a sepia filter, the camera captures all this breathtakingly beautifully. The story has a post-colonial theme, but on a deeper level it is mainly about the thin dividing line between the barbarian and the cultured man.