This is a very good film about the violence we do to others, emotional and physical. It is complex because there are many people in this film, some dependent on drugs, or the need of others, and those who cannot ultimately be touched physically or emotionally. The core of the film is Jeremie, a young man just out of prison who is often cruel, even to the point of not going to his mother's funeral. He only loves a dog, and by sheer bad luck a gay man tries to touch him and he throws him off a bridge in Venice where the film is set. The man finds him and kills his dog, and the young man goes into meltdown. End of spoilers. Andre Dussollier plays a writer who gets involved with a bisexual woman, and of course there is too much need on one side and also on the woman's side and this too has its cruelties. Techine is ruthless in dissection of how difficult the shifting sands of commitment are, either between parents with their children, and also with the children in relation to their parents. A self made porno film sent to a father by his daughter says it all. And this unforgivable behaviour towards others is like a cobweb, catching all of the characters into the loneliness that is perhaps the human condition. It is not quite Techine at his best, and the change from French into Italian seems tiring after a while. I also feel that some of the acting was not quite up to his standard, but to name the actors would be unfair. Beautifully filmed it catches superb moments like the storm over Venice seen from a distance, and of a wedding that shows a glimpse of mutual happiness. I have read the reviews here and am shocked at the way this film is denigrated. Like Caliban looking in a mirror we should all look to see how ugly we can be to others. This is not a comforting scenario, and for those who want to be undisturbed this film is not for them. Techine stands back and watches with his clear eyes and we should be very afraid of what he sees. I give it an 8 reluctantly as it is flawed in part but overall it is a fine cinematic experience to be put along with his other films. He is an aristocrat of film, and maybe he will be one of the last in this ever more saddening world, full of robots on the screen instead of the reality of how we as humans really are.
Review of Unforgivable
