Les Combattants
Love at First Fight
Year
2014
Director
Thomas Cailley
Synopsis
Between his friends and the family business, Arnaud’s summer looks set to be a peaceful one. Peaceful until he runs into Madeleine, as beautiful as she is brusque, a concrete block of tensed muscles and doomsday prophecies.
He expects nothing; she prepares for the worst.
He takes things as they come, likes a good laugh. Given she hasn’t asked him for anything, just how far will he go along with her?
It’s a love story. Or a story of survival. Or both.
He expects nothing; she prepares for the worst.
He takes things as they come, likes a good laugh. Given she hasn’t asked him for anything, just how far will he go along with her?
It’s a love story. Or a story of survival. Or both.
Honours/Awards
- Adèle: Awarded César 2015 De La Meilleure Actrice
- Adèle: Meilleure Actrice, Lumières De La Presse Étrangère 2015
- Adèle: Prix Romy Schneider 2014
- Kévin Azaïs: Awarded Most Promising Actor Cesar
- Quinzaine Des Réalisateurs Festival Cannes 2014
- Prix Louis Delluc 2014
- Thomas Cailley: Nominated for Best Director César
- Film Nominated for Best Film César
This is an astounding success as measured by nominations & wins at the César Awards, in particular as it was Thomas Cailley's first feature film.
Adèle’s role
Madeleine Baillieu. A macroeconomics graduate & survivalist.
Excerpts from reviews
“…Second good point: the interpretation of Kévin Azaïs and, above all, of Adèle Haenel, whose great qualities as an actress can never be said enough - she is capable of carrying a film on her own, and here she is not do not deprive it…”
“To interpret these roles, Kévin Azaïs, unknown to most, is perfect as a gauche fellow with stunted virility, while Adèle Haenel, in a Hawksian register (dominant, cunning, sensual), asserts herself calmly as one of the most important French actresses today.”
[I didn't know what "Hawksian" meant, so here is the definition from Wikipedia: The "Hawksian woman" is, in film theory, a character archetype of the tough-talking woman, popularized in film by director Howard Hawks. For example, Katherine Hepburn.]
“…This sets the stage for a finale that feels dishearteningly like the same old damsel-in-distress routine.
Despite that letdown, Haenel and Azaïs prove why they received so much recognition for their work. Both actors show incredible range, especially Haenel, whose fragility must rise to the surface and fleetingly burst through her tough-girl persona. And her deadpan delivery when she’s prophesying doom and gloom gives the movie its understated comedic vibe. The actors make the movie’s memorable characters are all the more indelible, even when “Love at First Fight” loses its sense of originality.”
Despite that letdown, Haenel and Azaïs prove why they received so much recognition for their work. Both actors show incredible range, especially Haenel, whose fragility must rise to the surface and fleetingly burst through her tough-girl persona. And her deadpan delivery when she’s prophesying doom and gloom gives the movie its understated comedic vibe. The actors make the movie’s memorable characters are all the more indelible, even when “Love at First Fight” loses its sense of originality.”
"Les Combattants": stretched like a bow, Adèle Haenel touches hearts right on target
...As such, his most complete success, which alone is worth the detour, lies in the magnificent performance of Adèle Haenel, all in animal mobility: the scowling face, the feverish lip, the body on the watch, as imposing as desirable, stretched like the string of a bow, it seems ready to leap from one moment to the next, in a tank top and warrior trellis, to bite, to conquer.
“Between comedy and intimate survival, Les Combattants mix genres with facetiousness to tell us the story of two marginal beings seeking to survive in this world where the perspectives sometimes seem well obstructed. Revealing the actor Kevin Azaïs (previously seen in Je fait le mort ), he also confirms the potential of the talented Adèle Haenel (legitimately Cesarized last February) whom he uses in a comic register which she assumes with naturalness and confusing ease.”
Comments
This is Thomas Cailley’s first feature film; he was a new graduate from La Femis when he made this film.
Kevin Azaïs is the half-brother of Vincent Rottiers, who starred with Adèle in Les Diables.
There were many more reviews for the film that I could have quoted with glowing reviews, in particular for Adèle’s performance. The ones above are just a taste of them.
From the Press Kit: Interview with Thomas Cailley
“Madeleine’s character seems to have been written especially for Adèle Haenel.
…Adèle Haenel was the first actress that both Stéphane Batut, my casting director, and I both had in mind for the role. Two-minutes into her casting call, we were convinced she was the one. She told us about the time she trained for a marathon in Berlin in the middle of winter in the snow, and how she was all alone, and totally under-equipped for it. I like the idea that through our own self-imposed limits, we can get a taste of freedom. Adèle has that intensity, a special something that’s hard to define. She’s also very funny, not to mention all of Madeleine’s physical exploits in the film. But then, Adèle is an exceptional athlete.”
Interview with Adèle about the film
Interview with Adèle, Kevin & Thomas
An Interview with Adèle & Kevin Azaïs
Rewatch Notes
Adèle won her second César Award for this role—which is huge. Catherine Deneuve, who we will see with Adèle in L’homme Que L’on Aimait Trop tomorrow, is probably the top French actress of her era and won two César Awards over her long career. That Adèle had won two César Awards when she was only in her mid-twenties is an awesome achievement. [That said, I really don't understand how such awards work—she didn't win one for Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu, so they don't always get it right...]
- Juliette Binoche – Clouds of Sils Maria as Maria Enders
- Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night as Sandra
- Catherine Deneuve – In the Courtyard as Mathilde
- Émilie Dequenne – Not My Type as Jennifer
- Sandrine Kiberlain – Elle l'adore as Muriel Bayen
- Karin Viard – La Famille Bélier as Gigi Bélier
At the same César Award night Céline Sciamma was nominated for Best Director for Bande de Filles.
Adèle is great in this film, as is validated by her award win, and she has lots of screen time—which makes the film so much more enjoyable for me. The scenes I particularly like are the nightclub scene—though the opening of the beer with her teeth disturbs me (too many dentists in my family!). We also see her do a great head butt—we will see another in En Liberté! soon. The power of her acting is, I think, demonstrated beautifully in the scene following Madeleine being disciplined for the head butt. The way that she portrays trying to keep it together and be tough when she is crying inside is superb. My nephew, when he was a little dude, was so much like this. Hurting so bad inside, but toughing it out so that no one will know about the pain... She acts with such nuance and subtlety that I am repeatedly blown away by her performances.
Another great scene is the dinner scene where survivalist issues are discussed. She is so deadpan and, in the current circumstances, it must be mentioned that she refers to coronavirus, though she is a bit dismissive of its likely impact. Perhaps we shouldn't have made fun of the survivalists so much... : )
The scene by the train tracks where they yell as the train passes is gorgeous—we see Madeleine letting go and really laughing for the first time in the film. In this an subsequent scenes Adèle portrays Madeleine in such a different way; a young woman who has been freed from the burdens that she has carried for so long.
The scene by the train tracks where they yell as the train passes is gorgeous—we see Madeleine letting go and really laughing for the first time in the film. In this an subsequent scenes Adèle portrays Madeleine in such a different way; a young woman who has been freed from the burdens that she has carried for so long.
All up, this is an enjoyable film, though the trope that a woman, however capable, needs a man to rescue her is a bit tedious. I suspect (but this is only conjecture), that nowadays, when she has more clout, Adèle might negotiate with the director to avoid this trope, similar to what she did with Le Daim, which we shall watch later on, so that her character of Denise had more agency than in the original screenplay.
Images from the film
The team—Adèle, Kevin Azai, & Thomas Cailley
Adèle with her Best Actress César Award for this role
It is really difficult to understand how she won the award for best actress with this film and did not win with POALOF. Without wanting to belittle the quality of this film, but it is not as complex as POALOF.
ReplyDeleteYes, I also share the idea that if this film were presented to Adèle today, she would negotiate with the director of the film the fact that her character is saved by a man.
I'm with you.... Adele should have won for Poalof.
DeleteOn Les combattants I think maybe you have to look at the characters as they have the contradictory gender. So in the end the more feminine character saves the more male character 🤔😊😋
I agree! I *really* don't understand how best actress awards work. For example, if an actress did a superb job in a third rate film then she is unlikely to win, so are they really looking at the quality of the performance?
ReplyDeleteAdèle's acting in 'Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu' is sublime. My hope for the César Awards night was that Adèle and Noémie would be awarded it jointly, as has been done at Academy Awards when there was a tie. Boy, was I disappointed that day!!!
Yes, Cesar 2020 was a huge disappointment. I was also hoping that Adèle and Noemie would win, because their work was magnificent, both deserved to win.
ReplyDeleteThat night was frustrating, patriarchy is difficult to weaken, we still have to fight hard.
Power that has been held for thousands of years is hard to gain... Each day we must try though. Things have improved—but not enough!
ReplyDeleteOui.
Delete