Daniel Fait Face

In this film, much like in Once Upon a Time in America, a scene centering voyeurism, triggers all the emotional turmoil that rips apart the characters. But unlike in Sergio Leone's film, in Daniel fait face, everyone is dancing, boys and girls. The plot of the film is limited to a school that feels timeless (apart from the counter-terror exercise), yet it spreads in an unexpected way. The high-motion camera reminds us of Samuel Fuller, a rare reference for young French filmmakers who often depict the world as an emotional tempest, where characters, both familiar and distant, seem to be coming out of a dream. Daniel and his friends, under some kind of high-pitched fever, turn the film into a dreamlike fantasy that also sway the adults around them. (Victor Bournérias)

FIRST FRENCH FICTION*

* Selected only for the prize Gérard Frot-Coutaz