Lesage plays with his audience like a cat with a mouse; intimate scenes sit side by side with vast open landscapes as the threat of violence bubbles beneath the surface, and the toxicity of wounded male egos engulfs the teens as they attempt to navigate new feelings and emotions. Comme le feu (Who by Fire) won the Grand Prix of the International Jury for best film in the Generation 14 plus category at Berlinale 2024.
And who by fire, who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of may
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
“Who By Fire” – Leonard Cohen
When Leonard Cohen released his song “Who By Fire” on August 11, 1974, many discussed its links to the Jewish prayer “Unetanneh Tokef”, while others talked about its contemplations on death and the slow or fast walk we all take to the inevitable final curtain. But it is also a song about our life journey and how our experiences, good and bad, welcome and unwelcome, shape the person we become. In his powerful, humorous, and ominous third feature, French-Canadian director Philippe Lesage asks us to consider how a single journey by water, land, and air can mould us into something new, open old wounds, give birth to revelations, and change our delicate sense of self.
Comme le feu (Who by Fire) is far more than the coming-of-age tale it was billed as at this year’s Berlinale; it’s a discussion on the transformations we go through at all stages of our lives and the secrets, emotions, insecurities, joys and fears we develop and store in the process. Here, Lesage delves into the complex web of interpersonal relationships that shape who we are, shedding light on the fine line between happiness and loneliness, desire and rejection, and certainty and doubt.
With an opening reminiscent of Kubrick’s The Shining, Comme le feu (Who by Fire) wastes no time throwing you off balance. A car drives along winding mountain roads lined with forests, and three people sit in the rear of the vehicle, their legs lightly touching. As the car continues towards its unknown destination, one lightly and nervously touches the other’s hand, hoping for reciprocation. But it never comes, and the hand moves back to their lap. The person in question is teenage filmmaker Jeff (Noah Parker), who has been invited to attend a getaway at a log cabin retreat by his best friend, Max (Antoine Marchand-Gagnon). The hand he brushed was that of Max’s sister, Aliocha (Aurelia Arandi-Longpre), his secret crush and unrequited teenage love.
Driving the car is Max’s dad, the once-great screenwriter Albert (Paul Ahmrani), and before long, their destination is clear: a boatplane where the acclaimed director, Blake (Arieh Worthalter), waits to whisk them away to his new life and home in the wilderness. For Jeff, it’s an opportunity to get to know Aliocha and earn her affection while meeting his filmmaking hero, while for Max, it’s a chance to spend time with his best friend. At the same time, for Albert, it is an opportunity to reconnect with the man he once called his best friend and colleague during the height of his screenwriting success.
However, as they settle into their Canadian paradise, old wounds open around dinner tables packed with food and wine, unrequited love and desire bubble into raging jealousy, and suppressed feelings are uncorked through nervous laughter. Here, in the wilderness, the dinner table is a place of joy, tension, debate, and arguments in a movie that is both a thriller, a coming-of-age tale, a delightfully sharp comedy and an exquisite psychological drama.
Gliding between the house, the forest, mountains and lakes, Balthazar Lab’s cinematography juxtaposes the awe of the wilderness with the intimacy and claustrophobia of each dinner party and the raucous, freewheeling energy of drunken nights (you will never listen to the B-52’s “Rock Lobster” again without thinking of this film). Here, an ensemble of guests that includes Blake’s editor, Millie (Sophie Desmarais), actress Hélène (Irène Jacob), her partner Eddy (Laurent Lucas), and Blake’s faithful staff (Guillaume Laurin and Carlo Harrietha), navigate the space around each other with a growing sense of uncertainty and unease as each day passes.
Lesage plays with his audience like a cat with a mouse; intimate scenes sit side by side with vast open landscapes as the threat of violence bubbles beneath the surface, and the toxicity of wounded male egos engulfs the teens as they attempt to navigate new feelings and emotions.
Celebrations quickly turn sour in the majestic beauty of Canada’s mountains and forests, heroes fall, desire carries heartbreak, and friendships falter as our story unfolds through a screenplay so rich in texture that it keeps your eyes glued to the screen as it twists and turns.
Each performance is a masterclass in character acting and script analysis, as each character leaves a lasting impression on the viewer. But the tour de force is Lesage’s direction as teenage dreams evaporate under the weight and pressure of a toxic adult world. The result is a sublime chamber piece that defies simple explanations or genre labels.
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