Heal the Living
Description
Three storylines come together in this complex tale of a teenage surfer on life support, a woman with an acute heart condition, and the medical staff who have devoted their lives to providing hope for the living by harvesting the organs of the dead. A group of teenage boys go for an early morning surfing expedition, and one suffers a tragic accident. In a nearby town, a mother named Claire attempts to manage a worsening heart condition. Intertwined with these two storylines is that of a hospital staff who go about their work of matching organ donors with patients, working with precision and urgency to save lives. In a vein reminiscent of Kieslowski’s Three Colors trilogy, director Katell Quillévéré achieves rare grace with her cinematic tools—the poignant score, the visual poetry of the camera, the performances of the stellar cast—to evoke profound emotions without a trace of sentimentality. Out of the depths of sorrow emerges a new opportunity for life, given by one stranger to another, hope out of despair. A splendid cast, including Tahar Rahim, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Anne Norval, finds the emotional depth behind characters managing life-and-death situations. —Miguel Pendás
Katell Quillévéré was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1980. Her first feature Love Like Poison (2010) won the prestigious Prix Jean Vigo and was nominated for the Camera d’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Suzanne (2013) won a Special Jury Award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and was nominated for a César for Best Original Screenplay. Quillévéré served as a member of the jury for the International Critics Week section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. With Heal the Living—nominated for a César for Best Adapted Screenplay—she emerges as one of contemporary France’s most accomplished directors.
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/207678773?autoplay=1Film Details
Language French
Year 2016
Runtime 104
Country France/Belgium
Director Katell Quillévéré
Producer David Thion, Justin Taurand, Philippe Martin
Writer Katell Quillévéré, Gilles Taurand
Editor Thomas Marchand
Cinematographer Tom Harari
Music Alexandre Desplat
Cast Tahar Rahim, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Dorval