AMMAN — “Rouge” (or Red Soil), an
ecological thriller that denounces both the actions of large industrialists and
the general consent of a society that prefers to look elsewhere, will be
screened today at the opening of the 10th edition of Women’s Film Week,
organized by
UN Women, the
Royal Film Commission of Jordan and partners.
اضافة اعلان
Inspired by a true story
To build the script for his second
directorial effort, filmmaker
Farid Bentoumi and his collaborators were largely
inspired by the case of the Gardanne factory, which has been dumping toxic waste
into the Mediterranean Sea for decades.
The producer chose to transpose this
story to the mountains of Savoy in order to allow an even more striking
visualization of the effects of red mud. This also gives rise to the most
spectacular scene of the film, when the characters reach the edge of the
polluted area, here called "the lake".
If the feature film is part of a
certain American tradition of ecological thrillers like
Erin Brockovich
(Soderbergh, 2000) or more recently
Dark Waters (Haynes, 2019), Rouge embraces
many additional themes in order to draw up a broad observation on French
society and its developments.
The title evokes the toxic
discharges from the factory and the blood ties that unite the members of a
family, as well as the color attached to a certain political and union
commitment. It is these three dimensions – ecological, psychological and
political – that Bentoumi intends to evoke in his second feature film.
It is often said after a first
remarkable effort that the hardest part is "the film after". In the
case of filmmaker Bentoumi, it is the opposite.
His first production was six years
ago with the identity comedy “Good Luck Algeria”, where Sami Bouajila portrayed
an improbable Olympic skier competing for
Algeria. Sympathetic and touching,
the film, based on a true story, had a somewhat anecdotal character despite
some intelligent notes giving hope for talent to follow.
It is often said after a first remarkable effort, that the hardest part is “the film after”
In reverse, it is today that
Bentoumi really reveals himself with “Rouge”, a politico-social dramatic
thriller for which he recast Bouajila alongside the formidable
Zita Hanrot.
“Rouge” follows the story of Nour, an
occupational nurse hired in the Isère chemical factory where her father has
always worked. Very quickly, she discovers that not everything is very “clean” in
the management of polluting waste, in multiple senses of the word. However,
talking means betraying her father Slimane’s trust.
Slimane is widely respected by the
local community, and if his own daughter causes a scandal, he will be accused
of bringing the wolf into the fold. But to be silent is to become an accomplice
in a revolting situation involving the political authorities.
“Rouge” scrutinizes every detail of
life at a chemical company - the hard work, the precarious employment of
workers, the financial pressure on an entire region, incomes that feed entire
families, the lack of health monitoring, the unreliability of environmental
audits and even underground agreements between powers are unveiled.
Bentoumi never darkens the picture
to the point of being Manichean, but tries to make the design clear enough to
alert consciences and give a global point of view on a worrying situation,
which in
France is compartmentalized by a good number of legal and financial
obstacles.
Despite the realism of every minute
and the desire to stick to the skin of a veracity that presents itself to our
eyes, “Rouge” is above all a film that knows how to link political and
fictional issues.
Despite the realism of every minute and the desire to stick to the skin of a veracity that presents itself to our eyes, “Rouge” is above all a film that knows how to link “political” and fictional issues.
With writing that marries the genres
to perfection, “Rouge” goes from a scene of tense and mute hierarchical
remonstrance to a sublime scene of a “declaration of war” between a father and
a daughter who no longer understand each other.
Towards ecological awareness
The viewer discovers at the same
time as the heroine the seedy underside of the chemical factory where her
father has been a pillar of the worker’s union for 20 years. Guided by the protagonist’s
successive discoveries, the viewer can fully identify with her questions, torn
between her duty as a nurse and citizen and her loyalty to a father she has
always cherished and admired. The progression of the character toward an
asserted awareness is helped by an ecological journalist portrayed by a very
solid
Céline Salette.
An effective anti-capitalist
thriller
Far from all of this, the managers
of the factory lead the dance by exploiting the credulity of their employees,
disguising the health problems of the personnel and solving problems with
corruption. This uncompromising vision of a certain entrepreneurial capitalism
has the merit of denouncing a state of affairs that is still too often
suppressed.
Effective and very relevant, “Rouge”
is a very good thriller that puts its finger on many current ecological issues
with a real sense of analysis beyond its partisan positions.
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