Departure (2016)
An English mother and her teenage son spend a week preparing the sale of their remote holiday house in the South of France. Fifteen-year-old Elliot struggles with his dawning sexuality and an increasing alienation from his mother, Beatrice. She in turn is confronted by the realisation that her marriage to his father, Philip, has grown loveless and the life she knows is coming to an end. When an enigmatic local teenager, Clément, quietly enters their lives, both mother and son are compelled to confront their desires and, finally, each other.
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In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Every scene was like watching a poem come to life with music, video visual art, and drama!
Not many directors start their full-length future film careers with powerful films. The few examples I can think of include Jean-Luc Godard with his 'À bout de soufflé' ('Breathless'), Alejandro González Iñárritu's 'Amores Perros', Gus van Sant's 'Mala Noche', Larry Clark's 'Kids' and Xavier Dolan's 'I killed my mother' ('J'ai tué ma mère'). And now there is another one on my list: Andrew Steggall's 'Departure'.Elliot (Alex Lawther) and his mother Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson) are vacating their holiday home in the south of France. As they are packing, a picture unfolds. Once happy times don't seem so happy anymore. Could the absent husband be part of the problem? It is not that simple. We gradually get to know the mother and her son. Beatrice's life is slowly crumbling away, while Elliot, on the other hand, seems to be living in his own world. Elliot meets a French lad, Clément (Phénix Brossard) a few years older than him and develops a crush on him. Both boys have issues to deal with, influencing their friendship. When Elliot's dad arrives, matters come to a point.This film has several strong points: The cinematography by Brian Fawcett is outstanding, be it of the forest and river landscapes, or indoor scenes. I found the acting excellent; special mention must be made of the powerful performances of Juliet Stevenson and Alex Lawther. My only negative comment is that the editing could have been a tad tighter, particularly regarding the underwater footage that seems to be over-emphasized. This is only a minor issue and has no serious impact on this rewarding film. I am looking forward to Andrew Seggall's next film. I score 'Departure' an excellent 8/10.
This is quite a dreary film, a rather awful way to experience 1 hour and 49 minutes. These get to be rather long minutes, as this is Art Film writ large in all the wrong ways. It is the story of (1) an aging English woman, a mother, who has never found the pulse in life, (2) her adolescent son, somewhat effeminate, who is or aspires to be a writer, and (3) a troubled young French man (or late adolescent) who is living with his aunt in the south of France while his mother is seriously ill back in Paris. The characters all live wooden lives, are walking breathing sacks of misery, and they know it. Apparently, the writer/director thinks that this misery is so precious that the film can stand on it alone; hence, we spend many long moments simply watching faces and postures of these characters while they are feeling crushed by life. Other stretches are considerably more disturbing or cringe-worthy. The only joy in this film is entirely passive: we are provided many opportunities to savor the rather somber beauty of rural Languedoc in autumn.
Teenage Elliott and his mother Beatrice return for one last time to the beautiful family house in South-West France in the autumn, to pack up and sell it. Whilst there, they meet someone who touches them both."Do you think you can know something before it happens?" asks the young Elliott. As the autumn leaves fall and Elliott explores his sexuality, he realises the summer of innocence is gone forever. Juliet Stevenson and Alex Lawther are perfect in this haunting film. The photography is stunningly beautiful and complimented by a wonderful soundtrack including Oliver Daldry.This is a film you will want to see again.