Dheepan (2015) (Tamil & French language)

Review

115min

Genre:       Crime, Drama

Director:    Jacques Audiard

Cast:         Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan…and more

Writers:     Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Noé Debré

-Synopsis-

After escaping persecution in Sri Lanka, a refugee and his unorthodox family struggle to build a new life as caretakers in the dangerous suburbs of Paris in this Palme d’Or-winning drama from the director of ‘A Prophet’ and ‘Rust and Bone’.

Jesuthasan Antonythasan, a former teen Tamil soldier and refugee himself, draws on his experiences to star as “Dheepan”; a Tamil Tiger rebel who’s wanted by Sri Lankan government forces and is forced to flee to France with his rather nontraditional new family.

The subject of immigration and asylum has long been relevant in European cinema; but when writer/director Jacques Audiard was conceiving this film, he surely could not have predicted how the events of the continuing European refugee/migrant crisis could have made ‘Dheepan’ so incredibly timely… and all the more powerful.

It’s easy to see why ‘Dheepan’ was so popular at last summer’s Cannes Film Festival; a powerful and timely human drama with a socio-political edge which focuses on the disenfranchised in the changing face of modern Europe, and one that takes a gritty but sympathetic view of the more marginalised elements of French society.

But it’s the harrowing experiences and personal story of Dheepan and his “family”, told through the lens of a refugee’s daily struggles and in this case under extraordinary circumstances, which makes ‘Dheepan’ such an effective drama, and its lack of frills and stylistic filler makes it all the more resonant.

Much like Stephen Frears did with his excellent 2002 immigrant drama ‘Dirty Pretty Things’; Jacques Audiard manages to craft a heightened human drama that’s both engaging and de-politicizes the refugee experience, increasing his reputation as a filmmaker who captures the changing dynamic of French society while subtly commenting on it.

‘Dheepan’ is not however a flawless piece of cinema; its considered slow-build drama narrative may be an issues for some, and it splinters emotionally in the 3rd act and then takes a morbidly satisfying but slightly questionable Charles Bronsonesque twist towards the end. But this well-crafted little French indie has enough going for it to leave more of a mark than you’re likely to get from Hollywood drama these days.

The Bottom Line…

A gritty but hopeful human drama about the European refugee experience… with a twist; ‘Dheepan’ is a simple, sometimes moving but always engaging French indie that’s more memorable than most mainstream drama fare and another string to the bow of a talented filmmaker.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

Two immigrants find themselves drawn into the ugly underbelly of London’s illicit industries as they struggle to protect each other and find a way out of a dangerous arrangement in this gritty Stephen Frears drama.

Directed by Stephen Frears and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou and Sergi López among others.

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