(En Plein Feu)
Quentin Reynaud
Release pending
Advertisement
THIS summer, France recorded more wildfires than ever before, with over 62,000 hectares destroyed by 20 August. Since January, the area hit by wildfires in France is 7.5 times greater than the annual average of the 15 years up to 2021, with one huge fire near Bordeaux forcing 10,000 residents to flee.
The Blaze(En Plein Feu), a French film that debuted at the learlier this month, is clearly a case of art imitating life. Directed by Quentin Reynaud and starring André Dussollier as Joseph, and Alex Lutz as his son, Simon, it focuses on how the pair try to escape the ever increasing threat of a wildfire, overcoming many obstacles as they make their way to the coast.
The film was shot before the recent French fires, and was inspired by California’s Camp Fire in 2018, the deadliest wildfire in the history of the US state. Its straightforward premise allows the narrative to focus on the protagonists’ survival.
Reynaud avoids Hollywood disaster hype, opting not to glamorise the plot with special effects and ambitious action scenes. Instead, he takes the route of realism and captures authentic emotions through a taut screenplay and simple, subtly effective direction.
During the film, we see local people prepare for evacuation, listen to and act on warnings, and (unsurprisingly) run and panic – nobody is trying to be a hero here, which adds to the realism.
Reynaud focuses on the emotional turmoil of his characters and their need to not only get through a growing wildfire, but also face up to the possibility of dying.
While the protagonists follow the evacuation protocol, they are never complacent: their fear of the wildfire getting out of control is an ever-present possibility, especially as they witness its devastating effects on local wildlife. This detail steadily raises the film’s tension, especially as we feel the hope dwindling as time is increasingly against them.
As Simon, Lutz brilliantly captures the desperation of trying to survive with an expressive performance and quiet determination. Dussollier brings an extra layer of complexity – and extra pressure as Joseph’s arthritis becomes more of an issue than anticipated.
The escape takes centre stage, but there are flashbacks to expand Simon’s back story, as well as the initial steps and precautions around mass evacuations. They initially seem redundant, but their significance becomes apparent as Simon’s need to survive grows.
Reynaud allows the natural dangers of wildfire and the perilous journey of his characters to drive this tense, emotionally charged eco-disaster thriller. In other hands, it could have been a disaster of a different kind.
