Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlain) is caught in the middle in André Téchiné’s poignant BEING 17
BEING 17 (QUAND ON A 17 ANS) (André Téchiné, 2016)
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at Third St., 212-924-7771
Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts., 212-757-2280
Opens Friday, October 7
strandreleasing.com
André Téchiné’s Being 17 is a touching and sensitive coming-of-age drama set in and around the beautiful Pyrenees in France. Written by Téchiné and Céline Sciamma, who has made such poignant films about teens as Girlhood and Water Lilies, Being 17 is told from the point of view of seventeen-year-old Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein), a loner who has a strong relationship with his mother, Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlain), a local doctor, and his father, Nathan (Alexis Loret), a helicopter pilot fighting overseas. Damien starts getting into fights with classmate Tom (Corentin Fila), another loner who lives on a mountain farm with his adoptive parents, Jacques (Jean Fornerod) and Christine (Mama Prassinos). When Christine falls ill, Marianne treats her, letting her know that she is pregnant, which both delights and frightens the parents-to-be, who had previously gone through several unsuccessful pregnancies before adopting Tom. It also worries Tom, who tells Marianne sadly, “Finally, a real child.” She responds, “There are no fake children.” With Tom struggling at school, both families decide it is best for him to move in with Damien and Marianne, primarily because it takes him hours to get to and from school each day and this way he will have more time to study. But things get complicated when both Damien and Marianne become enthralled with the strapping, brooding teen.
Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) and Tom (Corentin Fila) experience a rare quiet moment in BEING 17
Partly inspired by Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Being 17 uses nature as another character in this complex triangle. Tom is most at home in the mountains and valleys, among the grass and trees (beautifully photographed by Julien Hirsch), finding peace there even as his fights with Damien get more and more brutal. The physicality of their bouts, enhanced by the training Damien does with family friend and veteran Polo (Jean Corso), provides a flipside to Nathan’s experiences in a real war, which he relates to his wife and son over Skype. Marianne serves as mother and doctor to both boys, creating multiple forms of jealousy, especially as Tom, who is uncomfortable around people in general and wants to become a veterinarian, is attracted to Marianne as mother, doctor, and maybe more. But at the heart of the film is Damien’s burgeoning sexuality as he grows more and more interested in Tom as an object of desire, which further confuses Tom. Téchiné (Wild Reeds, Changing Times) tells the story with a gentle tenderness that is affecting, anchored by a splendidly nuanced performance by seven-time César nominee Kiberlain (Mademoiselle Chambon, 9 Month Stretch), who is extraordinary as her character evolves. Newcomer Fila brings an instant electricity to the screen; he and Klein (Sister, Gainsbourg) have a sizzling chemistry. Winner of the International Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 Outfest, Being 17 is a poignant collaboration between longtime French master Téchiné, who is seventy-three, and the vastly talented Sciamma, who is half his age.