Written and Directed by Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern
Coming to the Alliance French Film Festival March 4 to 31
Previewed by Len Power
After their popular comedy satires, “Saint-Amour” and “I Feel Good”, filmmaking team Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine are at it again with their new film, “Delete History” (Effacer L’Historique), which won the Silver Bear 70th Berlinale prize in Berlin last year.
In this droll comedy, three middle-aged people decide to fight back against the internet. Marie (Blanche Gardin) is a single parent whose sex tape has leaked online and wants it taken down before her son sees it. Bertrand (Denis Podalydès) has been writing to Facebook asking them to do something about the cyberbullying his daughter is suffering, but to no avail. Christine (Corinne Masiero) is a driver for a ride share company and can’t handle any more one-star reviews.
Set in an economically depressed region in France, the comedy is grounded by the bleakness of the characters’ everyday lives. It’s not surprising they’re desperate enough to fight back against seemingly impossible odds.
As well as following the stories of the three main characters, there are cameos from other down-trodden souls as well, such as a woman who is frantically seeking the removal of a tattooed obscene sentence on her arm because her young son is now quickly learning how to read.
The performances by the three lead actors are masterful. It’s been directed in a low-key manner and is deliberately paced, making it seem all the more real. You’ll empathize with many of the situations these people find themselves in.
This is a laugh out loud comedy that makes a serious point about the dominance of technology in our lives. You’ll never look at your phone in the same way again!
‘Delete History is one of 37 films that will be shown at this year’s Alliance Française French Film Festival that will run from the 4th to 31st of March at the Palace Cinemas. The full program can be found at Alliance Française French Film Festival website.
Len Power’s reviews are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.
‘Theatre of Power’, a regular podcast on Canberra’s performing arts scene with Len Power, can be heard on Spotify, ITunes and other selected platforms or at https://player.whooshkaa.com/shows/theatre-of-power.