DMovies - Your platform for thought-provoking cinema

Farewell to the Night (L’Adieu a la Nuit)

Andre Techine's latest movie deals with a young French man lured into radical Islam, featuring Catherine Deneuve - live from Berlin

QUICK SNAP: LIVE FROM BERLIN

Muriel breeds horses somewhere in the Occitanie region of France, not far from the Spanish border. She is played by a 75-year-old Catherine Deneuve, who has subverted the rules of ageing by looking younger every year. One day she receives the visit of her 18-year-old son Alex (Kacey Mottet Klein), who has become increasingly attached to his childhood friend Lila (Oulaya Amamra). While abroad, Alex remained in touch almost daily with the pretty young lady. One sunny day (quite literally, as the film takes place during the first days of Spring, mostly in the bright outdoors), Muriel catches his son (low and behold…) praying in Arabic (shock!!!).

The quiet and introverted Alex has converted to Islam. He is confident that he will enjoy a very happy and fulfilling “second life” after he says goodbye to his current dark existence (hence the film title Farewell to the Night). Lila has become his closest associate, and she shares his convictions and ambitions. Gradually, the horrific truth emerges. Alex and Lila intend to leave everything behind in order to become jihadis in Syria. They are convinced that this is the way forward, and no one can dissuade them from their holy purpose. So Muriel takes matters into her own hands, resorting to very desperate measures in order to prevent her beloved son from embarking on a journey presumably of no return. An ankle-monitor-wearing jihadi defector lends Muriel a helping hand. But their quest isn’t straighforward and simple.

Farewell to the Night is an auspicious movie because Techine is an accomplished storyteller with more than five decades of experience making films. The story is both riveting and plausible, with strong performances by the three leads. There is an important message about the failure of capitalism driving young people to religious fundamentalism. Alex and the other young people recruited by radical Islam have never been in trouble, and there is nothing wrong with them. They are simply bored of an increasingly consumerist and futile society. They are seeking a noble purpose and also a “Summer adventure”, we are told.

But there is also a very significant political issue with Farewell to the Night. It fails to distinguish between radical and moderate Islam, which is very dangerous in an increasingly racist and Islamophobic France and Europe. All Muslims in the film – bar the defector – are brainwashed fundamentalists. The message is: “Islam is evil and it’s corrupting our children”. Hardly a positive statement when we face the very real threat of the far-right. France has infamously banned veils in public, in a sheer gesture of Islamophobia disguised as a “freedom” statement. There is also a subtle and cringe-worthy apologia to the anti-terrorism laws, conveniently forgetting to mention that such legislation represent the erosion of our personal freedoms. Marine Le Pen will probably love Farewell to the Night.

Farewell to the Night is showing as part of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, which is taking place right now. Andre Techine’s last two films Being 17 (2016) and Golden Years (2017) were far superior and yet never saw theatrical distribution in the UK. Farewell to the Night may well make it to UK cinemas, simply due to the presence of über-actress and USP Catherine Deneuve.


By Victor Fraga - 12-02-2019

Victor Fraga is a Brazilian born and London-based journalist and filmmaker with more than 20 years of involvement in the cinema industry and beyond. He is an LGBT writer, and describes himself as a di...

DMovies Poll

Are the Oscars dirty enough for DMovies?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Most Read

Forget Friday the 13th, Paranormal Activity and the [Read More...]
Just a few years back, finding a film [Read More...]
A lot of British people would rather forget [Read More...]
Pigs might fly. And so Brexit might happen. [Read More...]
Sexual diversity is at the very heart of [Read More...]
Films quotes are very powerful not just because [Read More...]

Read More

Being 17 (Quand On A 17 Ans)

André Téchiné
2016

Victor Fraga - 14-02-2016

André Téchiné again touches the wounds of French society in a complex and moving film about sexuality and social integration [Read More...]

Golden Years (Nos Anées Folles)

André Techiné
2017

Victor Fraga - 22-05-2017

André Techiné celebrates 50 years of filmmaking with a five-star and five-splat film, impeccable in style and profoundly subversive in its subject - live from Cannes [Read More...]

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus

Neo Sora
2024

John McDonald - 26-03-2024

Ryuichi Sakamoto's final performance is captured by his son Neo Sora, in this heartwarming celebration of a multifaceted artist who influenced many people in the film world - in cinemas on Friday, March 29th [Read More...]

Facebook Comment

Website Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *