It's evening, not yet late, but I'm still tired. It's supposed to rain again on the way home and I'm here by bike. The last movie is supposed to run for 161 minutes and, as so often, the movie description was difficult to interpret. None of this bodes well for my openness towards Comme Le Feu by Philippe Lesage. The reason I'm still expecting a good film and am here at all is because Canadian Generation films have always been among my favorites over the last few years. Spoiler alert: That will continue to be the case.
Over two and a half hours, Comme Le Feu accompanies a group of very different characters into the depths of the Canadian forest. Jeff (Noah Parker) has been invited by his best friend Max (Antoine Marchand-Gagnon) to accompany him, his father Albert (Paul Ahmarani) and his sister Aliocha (Aurélia Arandi-Longpré) on a weekend with the director and long-time friend of Albert, Blake Cadieux (Arieh Worthalter). It soon becomes clear that Jeff has feelings for Aliocha and that the friendship between Albert and Blake is not as harmonious as it first appeared. As the movie progresses, one thing leads to another and the mood becomes more charged with every hour in the forest and every glass of wine.
The very beginning of the movie is a journey in itself. The first scene makes it clear to the audience why it will be such a long movie. From the very beginning, the frenzy of the festival is left behind. We drive in a car for several minutes, are allowed to take in the vastness of Quebec without any dialog and get our first detailed look at the young protagonists Jeff and Aliocha. When we finally arrive at the remote forest cabin of Jeff's great role model, director Blake, we've already come a long way, but that's what it takes to arrive from the chaos of the city in the middle of nature.
Those who believe that the opening scenes are mainly followed by long shots of nature and little dialog are very much mistaken. From the moment they arrive, the action picks up and the audience sits spellbound on their seats. Rarely have I experienced so many reactions from the audience in just one movie. There is constant laughter. People holding their breath. Laughing again with relief, then waiting tensely for the reaction of a conflict partner.
© Balthazar La
Minutes-long scenes, which are shown uncut, demonstrate both the talent of and the chemistry between the cast members. It appears as if the actors were simply given free rein, although of course many variations were shot with a wide variety of stage directions. At the head of the table, we are witness to the escalating discussions. The characters don't bother with false politeness. There is no filter for the emotions - everything pours out. While the happy scenes are incredibly heartwarming and I find the openness of the characters and their expressions of affection simply beautiful and special, the arguments are a punch in the gut. All the jabs, retorts and outbursts are raw and seem to come from the bottom of the heart. As the saying goes - hurt people hurt people. The relationships, which at first seem close and loving, are complicated and multi-layered. Initial admiration quickly turns into jealousy, dislike and mistrust. It is a study of emotions, a study of being human. Mistakes are made on all sides, usually only talked about when the damage has already been done. The only really open communication is initiated by one of the young people, while the adults behave like they are in middle school.
Comme Le Feu is honest and raw. All the more disappointing for me is the last quarter of the film, in which dream elements and paranoia come into play. They don't seem to fit the overall composition, leaving me confused and unsettled after the very strong and harmonious start of the movie. It feels as if my car has suddenly stopped upside down after a wild rollercoaster ride and I now have to disembark.
Overall, I'm happy to overlook this last part, but it remains questionable how good a movie can really be for me if I have to pretend a significant part of it never existed. Nevertheless, Comme Le Feu is one of my favourites of this year's 14+ program - I can't always choose everything and the confused dreams are definitely a highlight. And somehow I'll manage to get out of my upside-down rollercoaster seat.
