Heal the Living trailer
French director Katell Quillévéré’s third feature follows two stories, that of a teenager who ends up brain dead following a road accident and a middle-aged mother of two who is on an organ waiting list. Like most organ-transplant dramas, à la Seven Pounds or the far more rewarding 21 Grams, the initially disparate narrative strands are fated to converge and Quillévéré subtly weaves the two together. It’s a quietly compassionate adaptation of Maylis de Kerangal’s best-selling novel Mend the Living, one that bypasses misery porn or easy melodrama in favour of a more clinical approach which emboldens the film’s thematic core: how we negotiate with loss and moderate expectations.
The filmmaker achieves her goal of unflinching and precise authenticity, sometimes at the risk of turning her detailed drama into an infomercial for organ donation in the third act. Thankfully, the stellar work from cinematographer Tom Harari, the excellent ensemble cast – which includes Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Dorval and Tahar Ragim – and a stunning piano-driven score by Alexandre Desplat redeem a slightly lopsided film with a more involving first half.
A fair word of warning: if you’re even slightly squeamish about the thought of seeing open-heart surgery, brace yourself.
Réparer Les Vivants (Heal The Living) | Directed by Katell Quillévéré (FR 2017) with Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Dorval, Bouli Lanners, Tahar Rahim. Starts November 23
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