Un samedi sur la terre should be a charming tale about a family reunion set in the Normandy countryside. Eric Caravaca and Elsa Zylberstein play Martin and Claire, a brother and sister separated in childhood, and now being brought together again through a series of ap-parent coincidences. But while Director of Photography Michel Amathieu (City of Lost Children) lovingly paints the landscape in rich hues, the scenario for what, on the surface, might have been a simple rural idyll turns out to be a lot more complex.
Along with copious flashbacks and fastforwards, a veritable oeuvre of photomontage, Diane Bertrand's feature debut uses at least four different types of filmstock - 35mm, super 16, video, and black and white. Excluding Martin and Clare, there are some 50 speaking parts which are "all vitally important to the story", according to Bertrand. And as for understanding the apparently unconnected series of events that slowly bring the two siblings together, a jumbo-sized jigsaw-puzzle with half the pieces missing would be easier to solve.
"The trick to understanding the film is not to try too hard," says Bertrand, who won a César for her 1991 short, 25 Décembre 58, 10hr36. "Each scene is a piece in a puzzle, and all the pieces are there [or] by the end, anyway."
The premise of the film is that even the most trivial of events can have important consequences. Of course, it is impossible to tell what these might be at the time, "but then such is life," shrugs Bertrand with Gallic indifference, before going on to elaborate on her cinematic philosophy. "Basically, I like playing with the audience," she says.
"You can solve the film, but we wanted the audience to work," explains co-producer Georges Benayoun, and "that's not necessarily a bad thing." Benayoun, who heads up France's Ima Films, financed the US$3.5 million project through Studio Canal+ (US$1 million), Franco-German TV network ARTE, CNC subsidary La Sept Cinéma and MP Productions.
Following the film's selection for Cannes, Benayoun plans to produce Bertrand's second feature, La vie est trop courte. "Ima Films is about finding new directors and then working with them on their future films," he explains. "We get to work with someone with whom we have an understanding, and they give us recognition. What more could you want?"
Adam Minns
Prod Co: Ima Films, MP Productions
Prod: Georges Benayoun, Michel Propper
Dir: Diane Bertrand
Scr: Diane Bertrand, Guillaume Laurent
Ph: Michel Amathieu
Art dir: Philippe Chiffre
Cos: Madeline Fontaine
Music: Pascal Comenade
Ed: Marilyne Monthieux.
Cast: Elsa Zylberstein, Eric Caravaca, Johan Leysen
Running time: 95mins
Int sales: Studio Canal +
