Violet
Intensely stylized, highly original and utterly mesmerizing.
Violet
During a routine trip to the mall, 15-year-old Jesse’s best friend is violently attacked at random. The attackers do not confront or acknowledge Jesse, and Jesse does not engage or pursue the attackers… he simply backs away. Why did this happen? Could Jesse have done more? Did he have an obligation? These are the questions posed by VIOLET, a carefully calibrated character study of the process of coping in the midst of senseless trauma. Jesse’s parents and friends all seem to have their own (often destructive) reactions to the incident, but it’s the parents of the victim to whom he develops a strange connection. Shot partially on 8-perf 65mm film by acclaimed cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis (Bullhead, The Drop), Bas Devos’ meticulously calculated debut is constructed like a series of lush photographs. In each of the film’s compositions we see a sophisticated mosaic of loss, the permanence of trauma, and the tumult of youth.
Genre
Festival Favorite,
Drama
Runtime
85
Language
Flemish
Director
Bas Devos
Producer
Thomas Leyers
Writer(s)
Bas Devos
Cast
Casper De Sutter
Awards:
Winner, Crystal Bear ~ Generation 14plus Best Film, Berlin International Film Festival
FEATURED REVIEW
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
After his best friend is killed before his eyes in a random act of violence, the teen protagonist of “Violet,” Belgian helmer Bas Devos’ debut feature, wanders around in a state of semi-shock, unable to reconnect with “normal” existence. Devos depicts stages of grief not as a series of emotions but ...
Played at
Beverly Hills
Lumiere Music Hall
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