Alice Diop introduces us to individuals or groups who live along the RER B train line in the Paris region. It sounds like an interesting concept, but it's not a subject. She shows us individuals: for example, homeless people, dependent pensioners, short-hunting enthusiasts.
Some are family members. Some are not. Parts document, like the garage mechanic from Mali who lives in a van and repairs in parking lots. Or the nurse who visits the elderly, the section with the most hysteria. She also shows us a motley crew of individuals, including an intellectual and fanatics of the short-hunting protocol.
The whole is disjointed, non-linear in its unfolding and therefore in its message. In the long run, this leads to boredom (almost 2 hours for a documentary is too long). We do understand the personal side of certain subjects, with the evocation of the director's father, and her sister in the home help segment. But boredom sets in. And it's not helped by the many transitional shots of landscapes that punctuate the film's movements. There are also plenty of shots of the city (the Paris suburbs), gardens and woods. These contribute to the atmosphere. But they also contribute to the feeling of duration, but as they don't convey any information on the subject, they bore us.
Some are family members. Some are not. Parts document, like the garage mechanic from Mali who lives in a van and repairs in parking lots. Or the nurse who visits the elderly, the section with the most hysteria. She also shows us a motley crew of individuals, including an intellectual and fanatics of the short-hunting protocol.
The whole is disjointed, non-linear in its unfolding and therefore in its message. In the long run, this leads to boredom (almost 2 hours for a documentary is too long). We do understand the personal side of certain subjects, with the evocation of the director's father, and her sister in the home help segment. But boredom sets in. And it's not helped by the many transitional shots of landscapes that punctuate the film's movements. There are also plenty of shots of the city (the Paris suburbs), gardens and woods. These contribute to the atmosphere. But they also contribute to the feeling of duration, but as they don't convey any information on the subject, they bore us.