The Witnesses

The latest feature from former Cahiers critic turned filmmaker André Téchiné is another powerful drama boasting top-notch performances, in a manner we have come to expect from the accomplished auteur (one thinks of ‘Rendez-vous’, ‘Wild Reeds’, ‘Les Voleurs’). Summer 1984: A young man, Manu (Johan Libéreau) arrives in Paris looking for work and falls under the tutelage of a middle-aged doctor Adrien (Michel Blanc), who introduces him to a young married couple Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart), a writer, and Medhi (Sami Bouajila), a policeman. Within the liberal auspices of this group, Manu and Medhi embark on an affair, but the soon the spectre of the AIDS epidemic looms over the destiny of each character. True to form, Téchiné recreates this period of history with careful attention to detail (as he did with the Algerian War in ‘Wild Reeds’ or the Nazi Occupation in ‘Strayed’). Deftly mixing the topical subject matter with more personal stories, the director evokes the media response to the outbreak in parallel to the individual experience of those affected by the disease. A strong character-driven story is played to perfection by a top-drawer cast, led by renowned actor-director Michel Blanc (‘Summer Things’, ‘Une affaire de femmes’) and the sublime Sami Bouajila (‘Days of Glory’, ‘24 Mesures’). The film marks the third collaboration between the director and the stunning Béart, and introduces a new face to his team with a note-worthy performance from Libéreau. As with the fresh-faced Juliette Binoche in Téchiné’s 1985 feature ‘Rendez-vous’, ‘The Witnesses’ follows a young, provincial’s arrival in the capital city brimming with opportunity but also menace. However, the darker tone of his earlier feature is tempered here by the kinder side of human nature, as through the painful corridors of jealously, violence and sickness, a generosity of spirit and friendship glimmers.