Five devils review

The title the five devils involves the supernatural extreme, but Léa Mysius’ second directorial feature, while immersed in a certain amount of chilling events, focuses far more on family dynamics, racial tensions and the pressures of motherhood than on the occult or the supernatural .

Blue is the warmest colorAdèle Exarchopoulos is extraordinary as Joanne, a former gymnast and young mother who is visibly feeling a little stifled by her asexual marriage to firefighter Jimmy (Moustapha Mbengue), who seeks thrills by swimming in freezing water for as long as possible before hypothermia. she settles down. Her performance is a tense physicality, balancing nonchalance and vulnerability, connecting to more primitive places as her home life begins to crumble.

Joanne is constantly followed by her daughter Vicky (the glamorous Sally Dramé), whose high olfactory skills arouse a kind of obsession for her mother, as she fills bottle after bottle with concoctions in an attempt to recreate Joanne’s scent. Focusing on smell is highly evocative, it’s not uncommon to be comforted by a mere whiff of maternal scent, and Mysius makes up for the focus on one of the less cinematic senses by dazzling most of the others. There are vast, lush landscapes and high-contrast images; a dark and haunting soundtrack; and tactile shots of Vicky hydrating Joanne’s skin to prepare it for a dip. The atmosphere is changeable and tense. The strict subjectivity of the Mysius lens engages you deeply.

When Jimmy’s sister Julia (Swala Emati) arrives, the five devils it moves from creepy, suspenseful territory to more romantic drama, with a historic love triangle threatening the stability of Vicky’s family unit. The effects of Julia’s appearance also ripple through the local community: Julia is an outcast, expelled for past crimes, her (and Vicky’s) isolation amplified by negative currents among her small town’s otherwise almost entirely white population Christmas.

When Vicky becomes familiar with Julia’s color, she discovers a new and disturbing level of low power: it is a science fiction concept, but presented in a simple way, where it is possible to unravel the altibajos in the relationships between the main characters. indeed. As the movie delves into this, it loses its edge, heading towards an overly sentimental and sickening ending, but there is more than enough magical plot, compelling outcomes, and a variety, solid performance to keep you enthralled. Plus a karaoke stage for all ages.