L’Amour Debout
The Age of Reason
Film. Learning story, the first movie of Michaël Dacheux looks at the Millennials with a fair and tender eye.
By Lisa Muratore
Martin (Paul Debreil) and Léa (Adèle Csech) broke up. It’s the starting point of L’Amour Debout, presented at the end by the ACID during the Cannes Festival 2018. Then, they set out, each on their own, on an initiatory journey that will lead them to discover themselves, to assume themselves and to love. L’Amour Debout is a metaphor… It’s about standing straight and accept who we are truly are. Over the seasons – the film being divided into four chapters – they confront their desires, their responsibilities and sometimes their failures. Assuming truths that they did not admit until then. The first love isn’t the last one, Lea meets an older guy, Martin reveals (finally) his homosexuality.
”The film shows the social pressure of transition to adult life
Behind what might seem like post-modern manipulating, one feels a more profound statement. The film shows the social pressure of transition to adult life : housing, finding work, building new friendships…
The staging is clean, without artifice. The movie integrates unprofessional actors and the dialogues sometimes show it. But a musicality form inspired by Ravel’s presence on the soundtrack compensate this little false notes. The Art will be a fulfillment vector : singing for Lea, cinema for Martin… They will understand that a career is often about helping others realize themselves rather than helping themselves. A truth set out by Jérôme (Pascal Cervo), a socio-cultural animator who helps Martin throughout the film. A kind of learning novel, L’Amour Debout, is a fresh reflection on the quest for self and the long path to maturity.
