Between thriller and B-series, this fascinating investigative film breaks the codes of cinema: what are the other Laurens?

A desolate landscape, a lonely cactus, a shy neon-lit bar: here we are in L’Autre Laurens, Claude Schmitz’s new film. After directing shorts, medium-length films and plays, the Belgian director offers here a journey as disturbing as it is thrilling and unsettling in this feature film, which was presented at the last Monday of Cannes Filmmakers.

A hybrid tale with colorful characters, multiple settings, and numerous references, L’Autre Laurens opens the curtain on a private detective like no other, namely Gabriel Laurens (Olivier Rabourdin, tremendous as always) upon the arrival of his niece. She’s his Jade (Louise Leroy, The Stunning Revelation). A sort of sinister and determined Brigitte Bardot, she goes to her uncle to ask him to investigate the death of her father, Gabriel’s twin brother.

POL’ART OF SAYING WITHOUT SAYING

Between memories and well-hidden secrets, Gabriel will find that the ghosts of his past mix in this investigation with pretensions, fantasies and drug dealing. Beyond this exploration, the story unfolds in a great mix of genres that questions the codes of cinema, identity and which, not without talent, undermines certain lies of the patriarchy.

“I wanted to challenge the identity and address the patriarchy that it has been conveying for a long time… for too longClaude Schmitz tells us. I identify a lot with the character of Jade, who will make her own journey by discovering her father’s lies, replacing him by becoming a copy of him, surrounded by other figures that can be described as harmful, before breaking this whole dynamic. .“

“Apart from that, what I was interested in was the gender question. There is a genre as such, but also a genre in cinema. After my first films, in parallel with working in the theater, I had a real need to offer something romantic, to invest in a wider dramatic form.“- explains the man who also manages to offer us scenes of pure comedy, as well as dark scenes that give birth to a baroque, meta and, to say the least, individual cinematic object.

ALLÉGO(L)RIE BAROCK

Genres and atmospheres that mix and collide, like the symmetrical duality of the two Lauren brothers, the Gabriel/Jade duet or the funny cop tandem.

This mirror effect is found in many details of the feature film, such as the setting of the White House, which is actually the Château de Rastignac, located in the Dordogne, and which some historians believe is not a replica but actually a model. A famous American building.

Therefore, undoubtedly allegorical, the film speaks of the destruction of our worldview through, among other things, the collapse of the Twin Towers. There is quite a symbol there too. “For the Twin Towers there is indeed an allusion to the sisterhood of the Lorraines. But it’s also because 9/11 is the event that shaped me.“

“I was 20 years old, and it marked my memory in terms of putting an end to the idea I had of America, its supposed omnipotence, B movies, Stallone and Norris, militaristic, and full of contradictions.he recalls. After that, I discovered a different America and more complex cinema, which fascinated me.” As captivating as it is in what it says, and how it does it, L’Autre Laurens is a must-see piece that is sure to inspire you; Mark you, no doubt.

Discover L’Autre Laurens, now and exclusively in cinemas.

Comments collected by Mathilde Fontaine in Paris on September 20, 2023