Young French Cinema 2022: Robust w/The Bath
Director: Constance Meyer Run Time: 110 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2022
Starring: Déborah Lukumuena, Florence Janas, Gérard Depardieu, Lucas Mortier, Megan Northam
Country: France
Language: French
Robuste/Robust is presented at the Film Center and in our Virtual Screening Room as part of Young French Cinema.
Presentations at the Film Center include New French Shorts program selection Le Bain/The Bath from Anissa Daoud.
With this closely observed double portrait of an aging French film star and the young Black woman he hires as his new bodyguard, first-time feature writer-director Constance Meyer breathes new life into the odd couple theme, bearing witness to a passing of the torch from the legendary Gérard Depardieu to the formidable young actress Déborah Lukumuena. Film fans will rejoice to see Depardieu return to the kind of shockingly vulnerable performance that made his reputation many decades ago. The real thrill, however, is to see Lukumuéna go head to head with him.
“Charming, refreshingly un-sappy odd-couple dramedy”
—Jessica Kiang for Variety
Those who watch both Robust and The Braves, this year’s other YFC selection starring Lukumuéna, will be stunned by the range of her talent. Depardieu has too often been reduced to tabloid fodder in recent years, but he is here at his most generous, sensitive best, lending his legendary charisma to a warts and all picture of Georges, a capricious superstar who realizes how disconnected he has become through his unexpected bond with Lukumuéna’s no-nonsense private security agent Aïssa. Shaping both performances, Meyer’s assured direction shows a sharp eye for detail and a subtle empathy that gives this film about urban loneliness an unexpected warmth.
Young French Cinema 2022 Program See our upcoming films