The French Review

Reviews 269 Dolan, Xavier, réal. Mommy. Int. Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Antoine-Olivier Pilon. Metafilms, 2014. Mommy is the fifth film from the twenty-seven-year-old Quebecois director. Seventeen-year-old Pilon delivers a terrifying, frenetic performance as Dorval’s son Steve, who has just been expelled from a youth facility for setting fire to the cafeteria and injuring another boy. Dorval is sensational in portraying the struggle of the single mother, Diane “Die” Desprès, navigating the bureaucracy in charge of treating her son, coping with the havoc he causes when he returns home and the terrible choice she faces if her son cannot remain there.“Die”is at a loss to deal with Steve’s hyperactivity and the steady stream of profanities until she meets Kayla (Clément), her neighbor, who has a stutter so severe that she has been put on leave from her teaching job. Individually tutoring Steve, Kayla finds the ability to express herself, and Steve receives a high school diploma. But, in spite of a dream sequence to the contrary, the good times do not last. The camerawork and the soundtrack of the film are striking. Most of the film is shot in a 1:1 square aspect ratio, appearing as a square in the middle of the screen. It is only in one of the few joyful scenes that the camera opens to a full wide screen shot symbolizing the world of Steve and “Die” as it could be without his attention deficit disorder. The predominantly English sound track of the film is dominated by songs of despair and depression. It is only during the kitchen scene, as “Die,”Kayla, and Steve dance to a French song, Céline Dion’s“On ne change pas,”that the screen becomes full-sized and reveals the happiness of the occasion. This film is not for the high school classroom. However, sharing the film and having a discussion with other disciplines would help instructors gain needed insight into the problems of those students who may never enter a French classroom. This film can help us understand a part of the turmoil that goes on in the mind of an ADHD child and the daily stresses and strains experienced by a child’s mother, especially a single one.A line from Simple Plan’s“Welcome to My Life”from the soundtrack goes:“You don’t know what it’s like to be like me.” Maybe we do not, but this film helps a little. Clinton Community College (NY) David Graham Gaye, Dyana, réal. Des étoiles. Int. Ralph Amoussou, Marème Demba Ly, Souleymane Seye N’Diaye. Andolfi, 2014. Pour son premier long métrage, Gaye a remporté le Prix CEDEAO de la meilleure réalisatrice au FESPACO 2015. Écrit avec Cécile Vargaftig, le film évoque, dans une construction narrative triangulaire, des rencontres ratées à travers trois continents: Sophie quitte Dakar pour rejoindre son mari Abdoulaye à Turin, mais celui-ci s’est embarqué clandestinement sur un bateau pour New York où il espère être hébergé par la tante de son épouse, Mame Amy; cette dernière arrive au même moment à Dakar, ...