“Exciting and essential”: Rated 4 out of 5, this is a must-see movie this week

This week’s shocking documentary Une famille has been particularly well received by the French press, averaging a 4 out of 5 (on AlloCiné, 23 for media). The feature film is by Christine Angotti, who is taking her first steps behind the camera for the occasion (several of her novels have also been adapted for film).

Together with his family, a celebrated novelist deals with an issue that is both complex and personal as he bravely returns to the incest he was a victim of.

What is it about?

The writer Christine Angot is invited to Strasbourg for professional reasons, where her father lived until his death in 1999. This is the city where he first met her at the age of thirteen and where she began to be raped. His wife and children still live there.

Angot takes the camera and knocks on the family’s door.

What does the press think?

According to Ouest France:

“A powerful film about free speech.” (Thomas Baura) 5/5

According to Les Inrockuptibles:

“With this film, Christine Angott really captures something. It’s the violence of incest and the need for connection and speech to survive it.” (Bruno De Ruiso) 5/5

According to Le Parisien:

“Enlightening and moving.” (Katherine Ball) 4/5

According to Defector:

“Angot continues his auto-painting work here, in the flesh and images of himself as a result of the insults of rebirth. (Frederic Mercier) 4/5

“I want to see, I want to know”: Christine Angotti returns to the incredible in her first film

According to Les Fiches du Cinéma:

“A dense and compact film, carved with dried fruit from a block of silence, where voids open into abysmal depths and full spaces open to a very specific emotion.” (Nicolas Markade) 4/5

According to Liberation:

“Through a poignant documentary shot partly in Strasbourg and based on personal archives, the writer takes us on a persevering exploration of what made incest possible.” (Sonia Fauré) 4/5

According to La Croix:

“It’s intense, disturbing, sometimes raunchy, but this film is undoubtedly another touchstone in the work that serves as his viaticum and, in the current context of freedom of speech for victims of sexual abuse, deserves to be seen.” (Celine Rudden) 3/5

According to the Prime Minister:

“The result is a raw and stark documentary, uncomfortable but necessary, that echoes the rage of a woman who will never be silenced.” (Lucy Chicker) 3/5