Fidelio: Alice’s Odyssey
Description
This striking directorial debut by Lucie Borleteau brings us a powerful female protagonist in a typically male world. Alice is an experienced naval engineer, accustomed to the macho boys’ club of her chosen workplace. On shore, she’s happily paired with her artistic boyfriend, Felix. On board the merchant marine ship Fidelio, she operates in loud, grimy engine compartments, her companions affable, if crass, seafaring men. She misses Felix intensely, but the ship’s captain is a former lover from when Alice was a cadet. Now, her intention to remain faithful may be overshadowed by the temptations of the Fidelio’s confined world. But all ships eventually dock, and coming home to France Alice must face a complicated choice about what will make her truly happy: an unfettered life at sea, or grounded happiness at home? Arianne Labed delivers a fearless performance as Alice—a confident, independent woman fully in command of her own sexuality, grappling with the conflicting desires of her serene life on land and her work on the water, where the grinding of ship engines and the churning of the sea set her life’s rhythm. —Laura Henneman
Lucie Borleteau has worked on both sides of the camera as an actress as well as an assistant director and writer, collaborating with filmmakers such as Arnaud Desplechin and Claire Denis. The idea to make Fidelio: Alice’s Odyssey was sparked when a close friend went to merchant marine school. Says Borleteau, “At first I was thinking about a documentary, but I realized it was too big! So I thought, let’s do something better, with romance, with love, with sex. I’m very, very happy it became my first movie.”
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/122129308?autoplay=1Film Details
Language French
Original Language Title Fidelio, l'odyssée d'Alice
Year 2014
Runtime 95
Country France
Director Lucie Borleteau
Producer Pascal Caucheteux, Marine Arrighi de Casanova, Isabelle Tillou
Writer Lucie Borleteau, Clara Bourreau
Editor Guy Lecorne
Cinematographer Simon Beaufils
Music Thomas de Pourquery
Cast Ariane Labed, Melvil Poupaud, Anders Danielsen Lie