The Witnesses

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

While fans of the work of the French writer/director André Téchiné will queue up for his newest film, The Witnesses, this first-rate study of a time (the early 1980s), place (Paris) and people (a disparate group connected by everything from friendship and love to employment and sex) also makes a fine entry-point for anyone new to this moviemaker. I've never seen a Téchiné film I did not like, but I admit that some (Wild Reeds, My Favorite Season, Thieves) are more immediately accessible and enjoyable than others (Loin, J'embrasse pas, Changing Times).

The Witnesses is among this director's most quietly pleasurable yet disturbing ensemble pieces. All its characters are troubled; they never beg for our sympathy and, in fact, push us away to some extent, just as they do each other. Yet by the end of the film, we understand and care for them rather exorbitantly. Téchinéis often intrigued by gays and gay life, but always within framework of society at large. He observes how boundaries shift and people change and grow. In this case, much of the change is given to Manu, a young boy on the cusp of manhood who has come from the provinces to the big city. Filled with the excitement and joy that come from freedom and new opportunities, he grabs it all. His initial meeting with Adrien, an older man who will become his friend, is a gem of a scene--filled with attitude, anger, humor, kindness and surprise. Manu is played by the young actor Johan Libéreau (Cold Showers), who gives a performance to cherish. The rest of the cast--Emmanuelle Béart (a Téchiné favorite: Strayed), Michel Blanc (Monsieur Hire), Sami Bouajila (The Adventures of Felix) and Julie Depardieu (Blame It on Fidel)--could hardly be better.

The time in which this film takes place is pivotal: a sudden and encompassing fear is loose; attitudes must change, behavior, too. Without pushing or unduly employing the obvious, Téchiné takes us back a quarter of a century to a period of enormous disarray. Though the setting is France rather than the U.S., the cultural similarities we see and feel are as striking as are the differences. By film's end, you'll feel shaken, yet stronger, rather like some of the characters you've been watching.