Mireille Fiévet / France / 10 minutes
Synopsis
"Issam, 16, dreams of becoming a great dancer. As he is preparing for a decisive audition, he is very well surrounded by his coach and the other students, who are also his friends. But a rumor is circulating on social media, which could alarm his family and thwart his plans."
Mireille Fiévet’s scenario and filmmaking give through « Fausse Rumeur » a little film during which you won’t feel like time is dragging. Fluid, narration takes us in this drama— mini-drama actually, since even for the protagonists it will last only a few minutes. The pitfall is that the first viewing may lead to this instinctive reaction: « So? Is that all? ». A second viewing dispels this final possibly-disappointing feeling; the audience will decide if this quick treatment of the topic was or not a good choice. The ones who’ll think there’s a bit of missing development will at least retain the sensation of having watched a quality object.
Technically, it’s all right. The editing (by Maéva Dayras) is excellent, the sound is neat. Two accidents were strangely kept in the final cut: a shot blocked by bad placements (when a door opens on a character witnessing something important), and a boom microphone visible; apart from this, image is good, pleasant and natural, and perfectly suits the story.
Dialogues are well-written, lively, sometimes funny, and from one sentence you can already get the essence of each character. The actors (mainly teens) show a touching willingness that contributes to immersion, even if from time to time the acting unfortunately doesn’t ring true; however, they all make their characters endearing thanks to their natural likeableness, forming a very varied range. We wouldn’t have minded following them a little more!
Conclusion
Simple, direct and sincere. If a few details fail, this unpretentious short-film must be savoured for what it is: an efficient slice-of-life within a group (here, a dance class)— opportunity to skim over a couple of social themes.
C.A.
« Fausse Rumeur » joins official selection for the Little Croco Festival’s first edition, nominated in the Drama category.
Trailer:
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