Cannes (AFP)

Overwhelmed and destitute hospital caregivers, "yellow vests" beaten up by the police, social classes who look at each other: with "La Fracture", Catherine Corsini exposes in Cannes the tears of French society.

Twenty years after having been in competition with "The repetition" (2001), the French director and screenwriter presented her last film Friday evening, which was warmly received by the public.

The film tells the story of Rafaela (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), a designer in a relationship with Julie (Marina Foïs), an editor who wants to leave her.

When the two women land in the emergency room after a fall from Rafaela, they meet Yann (Pio Marmaï) a "yellow vest" trucker injured by a grenade fired by the police.

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Shot before the Covid-19 crisis, "La Fracture" echoes the current situation of French hospitals and caregivers who already denounced before the epidemic a structural lack of resources.

"With this film, I wanted to pay tribute to the caregivers who take care of all of us," the director told AFP.

- "Committed cinema" -

By juxtaposing individual narratives - Rafaela's broken arm, a couple's fracture, but also the fracture of one part of the population vis-à-vis the other - the director weaves a powerful political narrative , not only on the resurgence of social tensions under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, but on a precise moment, at the height of the social crisis of "yellow vests" where France could have tipped into the unknown.

"For me, it was really important to talk about France today," says Catherine Corsini.

"I wanted to place my cinema in an emergency because society is more and more violent, social misery has set in. At one point, I said to myself that my cinema had to become more engaged, more political, "she told AFP.

Violence against caregivers, social and police violence against demonstrators: the film shows a deeply divided and battered society, echoing the film "Les Misérables" by Ladj Lee, Jury Prize at Cannes in 2019.

Until now, the cinema had little taken up the subject of "yellow vests", with the exception of "Erase History" (2020), by Gustave Kervern and Benoit Delépine, and two documentaries: "J ' want the sun "(2019) by rebellious deputy François Ruffin and" A country that stands wise "(2020) by David Dufresne - the latter more specifically on police violence against demonstrators.

- "A little autobiographical" -

"A little autobiographical", the film was born after a visit from the director to the emergency room.

"That day, it was the first day of + yellow vests +, she tells AFP. I then stacked a lot of things, I imagined injuries ... Despite everything, it 's was important for me to stick to reality ".

Thanks to a partly unprofessional cast, including Aissatou Diallo Sagna, who plays Kim a devoted but outdated nurse - the great revelation of the film - and documentation work on the demonstrations, the film takes, at times, the appearance of a documentary.

Carried by characters who end up going beyond their clichés - the "Parisian bobo" couple formed by Rafaela-Julie, Yann the provincial "proletarian" with muddled anger - the film, often touching, is also full of humor.

"It seemed important to me that the film can make people laugh because, often, when we talk about political films, we have the impression that we are going to teach you a lesson (...) But it is through humor that people meet, ”she emphasizes.

"This is precisely what the film is about, namely how we could have a society where people look at each other, listen to each other and can talk to each other."

Present in filigree throughout his filmography - "The lovers" (1994), The repetition "(2001)," The beautiful season "(2015) - female homosexuality, is also at the heart of this feature film:" A At the time I didn't assume ... But in the last fifteen years, things have changed, people of my generation have managed to say what they were ".

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