Summary:
A young Israeli man flees to Paris to begin a new life.
My Thoughts:
“Synonyms” is one of the more compelling character studies I have seen recently. I first heard about this film during our monthly discussion with Celebration Cinema’s Eric Kuiper, and during our conversation, Eric said that he had read a review that described this film as a ‘coming into consciousness’ film; sort of an offshoot of the much more common ‘coming of age’ genre. I really liked the way that he summarized this film, for that’s really the best description I can think of for this movie; it’s not a coming of age story, for our protagonist, Yoav (Tom Mercier), is already grown, but he still has much to learn in terms of how the world works and figuring out how he fits into it.
“The Seine is a test that the city sets you. Its beauty is a bribe this city pays strangers to keep them from the heart of the city, which is neither beauty, nor women, nor grandeur, but something else I have not yet discovered.”
Yoav comes to Paris from Israel with nothing but a backpack and the clothes on his back. Shortly after finding a place to crash for the night, Yoav is robbed while he’s taking a shower and left completely naked, alone, and freezing. The next morning, Yoav is found by a French couple- Emile (Quentin Dolmaire, “Godard Mon Amour”) and Caroline (Louise Chevillotte, Paul Verhoeven’s forthcoming “Benedetta”)- and the couple decides to feed and clothe Yoav, and then they give him an apartment where he can crash. Yoav is resistant to talk about his former life, instead insisting that he only speak French; he tries to live as he believes every Frenchmen should. As he continues to live his life, he begins to realize how difficult it is to leave his former self behind.
After watching this film, fellow TMM host Michael and I hosted a discussion at Celebration Cinema’s Woodland location to talk about it, and as we did, I was struck by how many interpretations came to light. I think one of the things I loved about the movie was the way that the story was shaped, so that we the viewers were never completely sure of why Yoav ran away from Israel in the first place; we know that he was in the army, and that something horrible probably happened during that time, but as to the exact event that made Yoav snap and decide to run away, that much is a mystery. In fact, much of Yoav’s personality beyond what he shows us on screen is a huge mystery to us; he seems a very reactionary character, one that has changed because of his past and now is just doing his best to survive. Because Yoav is insistent on hiding his past, we learn about him based on his reactions to other people, and based on his preconceived notions about France and the French populous. As he further ingrains himself in their culture, he seems to want to completely rid himself of his former self, trying instead to become someone he believes is the ideal Frenchmen.
Many of the various interpretations that came from the people we talked with revolved around the directorial choices, because the film portrayed many events in a way that wasn’t necessarily meant to be taken as completely literal. I think of one scene in particular where Yoav’s new friend, whom happens to be Jewish, puts a kippah on his head as soon as they step onto a train. Right after Yoav’s friend puts on the kippah, he begins humming a traditional Jewish song as loud as he can in people’s faces while they try to ignore him. I took the scene to mean that Yoav perceived his friend wearing the kippah as a loud proclamation of his faith, while other people thought Yoav’s friend in earnest went about humming in people’s faces. Either way, the scene is a powerful representation of what Yoav is feeling.
A lot of this film was more about the feeling of each scene, and the direction really helped to bring the double meanings of each scene forward. As Yoav really tries to hide how he feels about many of the things that are happening to him, he dances around personal questions and instead talks in metaphors and riddles. The meanings we glean from his conversations with people are never completely black and white, and we the viewer are able to infer as much or as little meaning as we want to these little interactions.
Verdict:
This is a really good movie, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Great direction, solid performances, and an inventive use of cinematography make this film a rather compelling and emotionally rich watch.
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