Le Refuge (2009)
Summary
Genre: DramaGoodies:
+ Interesting character studyBaddies:
- A general morose feeling throughout the filmMousse and Louis are young, beautiful, rich and in love. But drugs have invaded their lives. One day, they overdose and Louis dies. Mousse survives, but soon learns she’s pregnant. Feeling lost, Mousse runs away to a house far from Paris. Several months later, Louis’ brother joins her in her refuge.
I am a sucker for foreign films in general – I often think they take cinema more seriously, that a movie is, indeed, a narrative, with characters, and that the filmmakers feel obligated to give the audience something worthwhile. Le Refuge is not the best French film I have seen, but it stands out in a lot of ways based on the rawness of the film. Imagine being a drug addict who’s boyfriend overdoses, then you find out your are pregnant! That’s quite a whirlwind of emotion and situation to deal with, but Mousse does it, and with relative success. The one part of the film I felt contrived was her recovery. I understand that they wanted to focus on the single-woman being pregnant / how to cope with death aspect, but being addicted to heroin is a serious subject, and they glazed over that part of the film. The film throws a few curveballs and feels very matter-of-factly, which I appreciate with a story such as this. I do feel like the film could have been a bit more emotional – it felt as if some of the coping strategies played by characters were strictly action based without emotional support (but not overwhelming). If you enjoy foreign cinema that has a raw feel, I would suggest seeing Le Refuge (Hideaway).
Trailer
