Amadou, a strong and charismatic African man, is washed up on a beach in southern Europe. Fate leads him to Brussels where, full of optimism, he tries to make a better life for himself. Exploited by traffickers, his daily life is slowly drained of hope, until he meets Agnès, a beautiful and brilliant businesswoman. She is seduced by his charm and force of character, while he projects all his hopes and dreams onto her. The illusion quickly shatters, and Agnès breaks all contact with Amadou, who little by little sinks into destructive violence, struggling with his inner demons. –Venice Film Festival
Very impressive film, especially considering it is Provost's first feature length film. He creates an oppressive atmosphere of urban alienation through the frequent use of shallow focus, an intuitive understanding of manipulating urban space and a powerful use of sound and minimalistic music. The performances of the two leads are also very strong, but this is first and foremost a stylistic triumph.
A roundup of reviews, impressions and more from this year’s edition.
I’m having some seriously conflicting thoughts about the ‘The Invader’. On one hand, its a somewhat insightful and blunt look at the “taboos” of interracial relationships (for those of you who are… read review