The remarkable Emmanuelle Devos and Daniel Auteuil - two of France’s finest and most-awarded actors – are at the very top of their game in the gripping and provocative new drama from acclaimed writer/director Joachim Lafosse, of a married couple and their adopted son who grapple with the fallout when a long-held family secret is exposed.
Cocooned in a life of privilege, 50-something Astrid Schaar (Devos) is the wife of the suave François (Auteuil), a prominent and media-savvy lawyer approaching a crucial point in his years-long, high profile case, in which he represents the parents of a number of abducted children. Day and night, reporters wait outside their gated home, hoping to snap a photo and secure François’ latest remarks. But the uneasy equilibrium of the household erodes when a figure from the family’s past returns, initiating their own search for justice…
Sharply scripted and observed, and dominated by performances of complexity from Devos and Auteuil, A SILENCE - inspired by true events that shocked France and Belgium - is a disquieting exploration of family duty, complicity and coercive control; as the screws tighten and the characters steel themselves for the repercussions of their actions, it’s impossible to look away.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2023 SAN SEBASTIÁN FILM FESTIVAL (In Competition)
WINNER – 2023 ROME FILM FESTIVAL – Best Director
"Intelligent and precise. A hothouse actors’ piece with superb performances from Emmanuelle Devos and Daniel Auteuil. The terse, snaking screenplay of structural intricacies and dramatic concealments frames the film as a mystery, with considerable intrigue in the secrets and complicit silences of one tortured bourgeois family."
- VARIETY
"Fascinating. Through breathtaking staging and images, Lafosse dissects a mother's shame, her silence, her change of heart. Auteuil is astonishing. "
- LE PARISIEN
"A chilling thriller, devoured by nocturnal shadows, with Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Devos at the top of their game. "
- MARIE CLAIRE
"This exciting psychological thriller portrays a woman confronted with her choices. Devos is masterful. "
- ELLE
"An actress and an actor at the top of their art. "
- FRANCEINFO CULTURE
Thursday 27th June
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101 min
MA15+
Emmanuelle Devos, Daniel Auteuil, Salomé Dewaels, Larisa Faber
Joachim Lafosse
Drama
French with English subtitles
