Amanda (2018)

Twenty-four year old single man David Sorel (Vincent Lacoste) lives in a small apartment in Paris. Working as a tree surgeon for the Parks Department, he also has another small job on the side, helping tourists settle into the apartment building he lives in.

He has a very close relationship with his only sibling, sister Sandrine (Ophélia Kolb), as the two of them grew up with only their father at home, after their mother Alison (Greta Scacchi) left twenty years ago. Sandrine is a single mother herself, raising her seven-year-old daughter Amanda (Isaure Multrier) on her own, with occasional help from David.

When Alison - now living in London - initiates contact with her two children by way of a letter to each of them, Sandrine accepts her request for a visit to reconnect, while David does not.

David (Vincent Lacoste) and Sandrine (Ophélia Kolb).

David finds it very difficult to forgive his mother, and has felt this way for twenty years. He is also becoming close friends - and maybe even more - with new apartment resident Léna (Stacy Martin).

One night, David, Léna and Sandrine make plans to meet up with some other friends in a nearby park in the city. While they are there, a group of men enter the park carrying guns, and shoot at random people in a shocking act of terrorism. Léna is seriously injured, and Sandrine is killed.

David now finds himself as sole guardian for his niece, Amanda, a role he certainly doesn't feel prepared for. He has some help from his aunt Maud (Marianne Basler), but she lives a long way from Paris, and Amanda needs to be close to her school, so most of the responsibility falls to David.

Amanda (Isaure Multrier).

The screenplay, by director Mikhaël Hers & Maud Ameline, is very well-written, with very clearly defined characters who all have their fair share of conflicts, both internal and external. The film is much more about the relationships between the characters than it is about the terrorist act that introduces the main premise of the film; there is no sense of sensationalism around this hot-button issue. The film is a very delicate balance between comedy and drama; the comedy having a very French feel to it, and the drama having a very realistic feel to it. I found myself moving from laughter to tears repeatedly over the course of the film.

Anton Sanko's score is relatively simple in terms of instrumentation, but is incredibly strong in its thematic development and its undergirding support of the on-screen action. The music has a distinctive French feel, grounding the action in this very specific location well.

The cinematography - courtesy of Sébastien Buchmann - is incredible, certainly assisted by the fact that the city of Paris is absolutely beautiful. The camera angles are generally pretty standard shots, but there is the odd shot here and there that will stand out - but in a good way. There is not a great deal of contrast between light and dark, then again, there are not a lot of dark scenes in the film, so this isn't really an issue.

David (Vincent Lacoste).

Where this film really shines, however, is in the performances of the cast. The cast are - without exception - incredibly skilled at what they do, and bring their respective characters to life in a way that gives the story an incredibly realistic feel to it. It almost feels as though we - the audience - are intruding into these characters' lives throughout.

Lacoste is fantastic as David, but the clear standout performance is definitely Multrier in the titular role. Despite her young age, she conveys such a depth to her role, and is not afraid to dig deep into herself and bring raw emotion to the screen. And if her performance doesn't bring a tear to your eye, then you have no heart.

Director Mikhaël Hers has made one of the most beautiful French films I have seen in a long time. If you haven't seen it yet, you absolutely must try to get your hands on a copy as soon as possible; this film is just amazing.

Having no way to fault this film, I cannot give it any other rating than a resounding 10 out of 10.