9/25/2023 0 Comments Undercover tourist reviewThis "lack" of a serious critique makes "Between Two Worlds" the story of a pampered journalist confronted with how "these people live," plus the fallout when her lie is discovered, rather than a real shot fired at an unfair system. It's always the system, and Marianne shows no interest in the systemic issues creating these appalling job conditions, widening the gap between haves and have-nots. The problem with "Between Two Worlds" is that it presents the ferry crew's work as though the critique is understood, but it isn't. These peripheral characters are all so interesting they could carry their own individual films: The tough supervisor (Evelyne Porée), the glamorous Justine (Emily Madeleine), the hopeful romantic Cédric ( Didier Pupin), the young woman ( Léa Carne) dreaming of skipping town with her boyfriend. Their acceptance of Marianne is contingent upon her capability: if she dragged them down with incompetence, they'd shun her, but she keeps up with the work, so they embrace her. I guess these critics have never worked an exhausting menial job, where camaraderie with co-workers is an important survival skill. I've seen a couple of reviews criticizing their good-natured camaraderie as not believable. Why hasn't it occurred to Chrystèle? Because she has three young sons, barely any income, and lives in constant stress. It's easy for her to encourage Chrystèle to take an afternoon off and go to the beach. But what it is "like" is different than what it IS. Marianne wants to know what it is like for "these people." She sees what it is like, and she experiences it. You wonder: How will she react when the truth is revealed? Because it must be revealed! Chrystèle's openness to this new friendship is perilous. Marianne helps her to take a little bit of time to chill out, to relax. She's tough and capable but also fragile and open, qualities she has sought to cover up to face her challenges. A strange and meaningful friendship blossoms, although you can see Marianne assessing Chrystèle as a potential "subject" for her book. She has to walk to work, and so Marianne, who has a car (given to her, improbably, by a fellow cleaning lady who happens to know someone with a beat-up car they're willing to pass on to Marianne for free), offers to drive Chrystèle to and from work. She wants to save her money to get more tattoos. The excellent Hélène Lambert plays Chrystèle, a single mother whose only option is the ferry job. This highlights the "difference" of Marianne, part of the group yet somehow separate from it. The rest of the people in the film (except for one) are all plucked from real life with no other credits. It strives for a Ken Loach-style reality and sometimes achieves it. But the questions asked of her in the job office persist throughout. Didn't it occur to Marianne that she would be taking a job from someone who actually needed it? Marianne hopes, feebly, that it will be worth it to expose unfair and inhumane working conditions, etc. "Between Two Worlds" does address the inequality and condescension inherent in Marianne's quest to see the "invisible." A social worker at the job office recognizes Marianne as a famous author and asks her what the hell she thinks she is doing, trying to be a cleaning lady. The workers she meets are far more interesting than she is. Marianne's pain and stress about living undercover can't help but highlight her privilege. The people she meets have no escape routes. So while her arms shake after making 230 beds and she's as physically exhausted as her colleagues, she's still just a tourist. She has a life back in Paris and a book contract. The conflict is unavoidable: Marianne does the work like everyone else but can stop at any time. She wants to write a book about her time with these "cleaning ladies."ĭirected by Emmanuel Carrère and based on Florence Aubenas’s 2011 book Le quai de Ouistreham, her reporting on the ferry workers in Caen, "Between Two Worlds" is between two subjects: there's the ferry workers themselves, a rowdy fascinating bunch, and Marianne's private anxiety about lying to them. She wants to make it real for herself she wants to not just see it with her own eyes but experience it. She has heard about the "crisis" of unemployment, of the "invisible" population of people struggling in these precarious jobs with no stability. She's actually a journalist working undercover.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |