Matthew Turner | On 02, Mar 2024

Director: Robin Campillo
Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez, Charlie Vauselle, Amely Rakotoarimalala, Hugues Delamarlière, Calissa Oskal-Ool
Certificate: 12

Director Robin Campillo (120 BPM) has based this coming-of-age drama on his own childhood, growing up as a young boy on a French military base in Madagascar in the 1970s. Stunningly shot and beautifully acted, it creates a compelling child’s eye view of the adult world, augmented with a dash of delightful fantasy.

The film takes place on a French air base, 10 years after the Malagasy people won independence from France. The reality of that political situation is that the military professionals actually have very little to do, so they spend their days by the beach, or having endless rounds of barbecues and parties.

The story centres primarily on the Lopez family: father Robert (Quim Gutiérrez), mother Colette (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) and their three boys, one of whom is eight-year-old Thomas (Charlie Vauselle), a perpetually watchful and inquisitive child, with a habit of spying on the various adults from concealed places. In the course of the film, Thomas meets Suzanne (Cathy Pham), a young Vietnamese girl his age, and the pair become great friends, bonding over bicycle rides and books about their favourite costumed crime-fighter, Fantômette (Calissa Oskal-Ool), whose adventures appear as live-action fantasy sequences.

There’s no real plot, to speak of, so the film frequently feels like a warm haze of childhood memories flowing together. Accordingly, Thomas witnesses a variety of goings-on between the adults – including his parents and their friends – but it’s clear he doesn’t often fully understand the significance of the things he’s seeing and hearing, particularly the relationship that unfolds between young French airman Bernard (Hugues Delamarlière) and Miangaly (Amely Rakotoarimalala), a local woman who works at the nearby brothel and sews parachutes on the airbase.

The performances are pure pleasure. Vauselle is wonderful as wide-eyed, softly spoken Thomas, and his friendship with Pham’s character is utterly charming. Similarly, Tereszkiewicz and Gutiérrez make a compellingly charismatic couple, quietly navigating their own relationship difficulties, while trying to maintain appearances in front of their friends.

There’s also strong support from David Serero and Sophie Guillemin (who hasn’t been seen on UK screens in a while) as Mr and Mrs Guedj, the longest serving of the airbase inhabitants – and also, in Mrs Guedi’s case, the most cynical. In addition, Calissa Oskal-Ool is so fabulous as Fantômette (a popular character in France, but little known here) that you immediately hope someone is planning a spin-off series.

Campillo creates a powerful sense of place, thanks to Jeanne Lapoirie’s golden-hued cinematography – if it was a filter, it would be called “nostalgia” – some gorgeous location work and some perfectly chosen pop songs on the soundtrack. However, what really stands out is Campillo’s feel for textures and sounds: there are some truly beautiful cuts and edits, such as the cut from some gravel to a selection of gem stones, or the beach to the surface of a prized marble table.

Ultimately, this is a film to get lost in, to savour the warm, hazy images flowing over you as the story captures those nostalgic moments between childhood and adulthood. Oh, and there’s a great bit with some baby crocodiles too.

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