"Discourse on Cinematic Art"
In the northern suburb of La Courneuve, a mechanic named Ismaël becomes the central figure in Alice Diop's thought-provoking documentary. The film, a masterful exploration of lives on the outskirts of Paris, offers an alternative to common media portrayals that often reduce the area to a "problem area".
Diop's artistic claim is symbolized by a metaphor: at dawn, a family uses binoculars to observe the forest edge, while a deer observes them from a distance. This metaphor encapsulates the documentary's aim to create empathy by focusing on protagonists in everyday gestures and close-ups.
The recurring sound of passing trains serves as a common thread connecting the characters, symbolizing the relentless pace of life and the constant movement of people. Diop's sister, a mobile nurse, records autobiographical memories of her patients on each visit, adding a personal touch to the narrative.
The documentary adopts a scientific approach of writing history "from below", systematically adopting the perspective of the little people. Ismaël's daily life critically tells the story of European migration policy, focusing on newcomers who struggle for decades without papers to stay.
Scenes in the documentary include Ismaël's first coffee, tinkering under car hoods, freezing nights in a camper, and a phone call with his mother. The film also visits the Holocaust memorial site in Drancy, focusing on exhibits and poignant eyewitness accounts off-screen.
Fixed shots of the dark desolation of Sevran-Beaudottes station plaza at dawn and the crowded platform of commuters contrast with the dazzling sunlight illuminating grass, playing children, and chattering girls' faces spending a carefree summer day in the no-man's-land of the train tracks.
The documentary sketches a mosaic of lives and landscapes, including the integration of blurred amateur videos from Diop's own family's youth in Aulnay-sous-Bois. The final scenes of handiwork and conservative rituals around a hunt bring the film back to the family of the first sequence, inviting viewers to discover the larger story that connects us all in small stories.
In discussing her work with writer Pierre Bergounioux, Diop aims to make the lives of people on the periphery visible. Bergounioux, a French writer and intellectual associated with literary work evolving from novel-like texts toward other forms, lives in the Limousin region in France.
Diop's own first filmic attempts show her now deceased father, who recounts his journey from Senegal to France. The documentary also includes close-ups of moving worshipers during the annual reading of Louis XVI's will in the cathedral of Saint-Denis, adding depth and diversity to the narrative.
In essence, "La Courneuve" is a poignant and powerful documentary that invites viewers to reconsider their perceptions of suburban life, migration, and the human experience.
