Pas douce (2007)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jeanne Waltz

Writer:

Jeanne Waltz (writer)

Release Date:

30 May 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A rebellious teenager and a "border-line" young nurse will learn to tame each other and get a fresh start in life. |

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Injured Child | Shooting | Dead Body | Nurse Patient Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Isild Le Besco	...	Fred
Lio	...	Eugenia
Steven de Almeida	...	Marco
Yves Verhoeven	...	Miguel, le père de Marco / Marco's father
Michel Raskine	...	Le commissaire
Jocelyne Desverchère	...	Rita
Maxime Kathari	...	Jérémy
Sylvie Huguel	...	L'infirmière rousse
Philippe Vuilleumier	...	Le père de Fred
Christian Sinniger	...	L'ami du père
Caryl Minder	...	Garçon tir
Romina Tahami	...	La fille de Rita
Estelle Bealem	...	Renate
Bernard Nissile	...	Le Blessé Ivre
Christophe Sermet	...	André

Also Known As:

A Parting Shot (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:84 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Bloody Mary Productions

Involving in places, but seems afraid to go the whole way

A Parting Shot (Pas Douce, "not tender", in French) is a strange little film: not fully convincing, but not boring either. Constantly juggling profound psychological analysis and contrived simplicity, it ultimately leaves the viewer with nothing new, its short running time, steady pace and gritty performances ensuring, however, that it flows quickly without exasperating.

The original title refers to the female lead, Frédérique (Isild Le Besco), a lonely, mentally unstable nurse who lives in a small Swiss town. To be more specific, "not tender" is how some bloke describes her when she engages in casual sex with him and another guy. Why she does that is never explained. The same goes for the following scene, where she hides in a wood and decides to kill herself with a shotgun. Weirdly enough, the bullet winds up injuring a young boy named Marco (Steven de Almeida), and just to make things more ironic, she is among the nurses who are asked to take care of him.

The premise is admittedly fresh and intriguing, offering plenty of ideas for a solid drama. Alas, for some reason director Jeanne Waltz opts for opening a couple of subplots without exploring them any further, depriving the film of meaning and resonance. What, for example, is the point of introducing Marco's parents and their supposedly troubled marriage and then ignore the whole situation for the rest of the movie? Similarly, some room is offered to Frédérique's boyfriend, but with no explanation of her unhappiness and his possible role in it those scenes come off as hollow and pointless.

Another flaw is the shooting scene that triggers the entire movie (pun intended): reading the plot synopsis, I expected a certain sequence; what I saw was so different and ridiculous (I will not reveal any details, see for yourself) it almost ruined the mood of the feature. Fortunately, the few bits where perpetrator and victim interact are enough to keep the film on track, Le Besco's ambiguous stare and de Almeida's contained rage completing each other in a bond that effectively saves A Parting Shot from being the usual simple-minded, arty piece of work that tries to reach the heart without even knowing where it is.

6,5/10