Le Prince des Cieux (2014)

~ Bacon Kractor

I first heard about this movie when a friend of mine posted a review for it on Extreme Horror Cinema. To be perfectly honest, the art-house style of film making has always been fairly binary for me, the piece either works and there is enjoyment, or it doesn’t and it’s a very difficult experience. Based on what was said in that first review however, I was quite intrigued and if memory serves commented as such on a Facebook post concerning the review. Shortly after that I was contacted by the director (David Thouroude) who asked me if I would be interested in a free copy of the film provided I made a post and let them know what I thought of it.

Fast forward a few years and I am currently coming out of a fairly prolonged period of depression and inactivity, and long story short I decided that in order for me to give myself something to do I’d start a blog of sorts where I “reviewed” various movies and bits of music out of my collection. When it came time to pick with which title I wanted to get the ball rolling , “Le Prince des Cieux” popped into my mind (for a number of reasons).

Similar to a great number of art-house films, the viewer is not going to be presented with any sort of obvious linear story-line. From a review standpoint this presents a bit of a challenge, because how does one accurately describe a series of scenes and images that evoke such heavy emotion without resorting to a bland and stale point form list of what the viewer is going to see?

Doing that would in no way approach doing this film justice. Some of the things you will see in this film will stick with you because they are confusing, or shocking, or offensive … and often times all three in combination. At several points I actually paused the film and rewound almost frame by frame because I wasn’t sure I had actually seen what I thought I had … turns out I had, and that particular image I still think about years after seeing the film for the first time.

While the film is from France and the packaging is all in French, don’t let that deter you if you aren’t a French speaker because as far as I could tell there wasn’t a single spoken word in the entire movie. Not one, and there’s only one actor (Abdou M’Bodji). He relies entirely on his body movements, facial expressions, and playing off the scenery around him to put across his performance. Without words, or backstory, the viewer is left with a sense of unease when the film wraps up with nothing resembling a neat conclusion. One minute the movie is playing, and then it is done.

There are parts of this film in black and white, and parts where color is very effectively used. Some shots are frenetic and alive, while others are slow and lingering almost to the point of being stationary. At no point are you allowed to get comfortable or complacent, you either strap in and come along for the ride or I suspect you’ll be turning the film off before it’s done.

A huge part of the sense of unease and foreboding produced in the film is the soundtrack (done by Billy Dranty), which unfortunately you cannot get on it’s own or I would pick it up in a heartbeat. At times loose and ambient and at others harsh and pressuring, the palette of sounds used to score this film is paired perfectly with the visuals. More than simply mirroring what’s going on, the music and sound design for the film function as two parts of the same puzzle rather than a list of songs burped up by bands who have albums coming out.

In conclusion, this film is definitely not for everyone. Those easily shocked or offended, stay clear. If you find yourself reaching for the remote when a movie doesn’t lay things out for you with neat explanations and tie it up with a pretty bow for you, you won’t enjoy this. However, if you like to see and hear things that are interesting and cause you to think, this might be your cup of tea. I find myself coming back to this film periodically and even now will notice something I hadn’t before. Check out the trailer (and no worries about it being spoiler filled, it’s enough to give you an accurate picture without giving away too much), and if it looks like something you’d enjoy hit them up at the provided contact information and I’m sure they’d be happy to help you out.

Published by Bacon Kractor

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