"In my hometown, people smile even when they fall on the ground. But here, if you laugh too much, others tend to regard you as fool, or that you are laughing at somebody." As the female protagonist, who is an illegal immigrant, said in this film, France seems to give the out-comers an impression of being 'othered' and put these people into kind of oppressed mental situation. Their expectation for France becomes an illusion, particularly when they're shrouded with special background which cannot be put into words for being sensational. In this case, Dheepan, used to be an 'terrorist' (to some extent), and all three members of his new 'family' entered the country illegally. As a result, they hide and drag out an ignoble existence, while still hold the bond between themselves as immigrants and their cultural identity as Indians. By integrating these meanings with cinematic narration (e.g. through character design), this film is equipped with much in-depth value and becomes a good material to talk about.
Different from some other films made by Audiard, photographic properties in this one apparently look more delicate. If you compare Dheepan with The Beat That My Heart Skipped, such differences become obvious. I mean, the color tone, the props, settings within camera frames and even compositions and cuttings are quite carefully designed. This makes Dheepan being unified throughout the development of its story, holding and accumulating the power of expression just for the final 'explosion'. Fortunately, Audiard has the outstanding ability to make this accumulation worth, because you can tell from his style (i.e. always utilizing the power of silence, slow motion, and symbolizing) that he can manage expressions of 'stroooong' moments. Like him!
Different from some other films made by Audiard, photographic properties in this one apparently look more delicate. If you compare Dheepan with The Beat That My Heart Skipped, such differences become obvious. I mean, the color tone, the props, settings within camera frames and even compositions and cuttings are quite carefully designed. This makes Dheepan being unified throughout the development of its story, holding and accumulating the power of expression just for the final 'explosion'. Fortunately, Audiard has the outstanding ability to make this accumulation worth, because you can tell from his style (i.e. always utilizing the power of silence, slow motion, and symbolizing) that he can manage expressions of 'stroooong' moments. Like him!