Plein sud (French) [Going South]

If you watch this film looking for entertainment, you will be thoroughly disappointed But have some patience and give it some time, you might start feeling what the characters are going through. There are long shots of silence in the film but they go with the characters, and their aimlessness. There is some mystery in the character's childhood and slowly, as the film progress, we will find out.

Sam is traveling to south of France looking for his mom. On his way, he gives ride to siblings Lea and Jeremie. Lea is pregnant and it seems the siblings are also running away from something. Jeremie likes Sam a lot and has feelings for him , which Sam also does but there is something stopping Sam to give himself to the love of another man. They meet Mathieu who joins their trip on Leah's insistence because she now fancies the boy. The film now explores the chemistry between these 4 individuals and their interactions. They have happy times, they have sad times, they have times when hearts are broken and no words are exchanged. Sam finally gives in and makes love to Jeremie only to leave him th next day with tons of questions in his mind. The mood changes as Sam meets his mother who now lives in countryside. This woman suffered a traumatic shock being next to her husband when he decided to take his life sitting next to her. Sam, obviously older now, comes in to her new life, never expecting she has a man in her life who, for all appearances care about her that is evident. Sam, in a way, feels betrayed.

Sam is an enigma. It is clear that he is attracted to Jeremie, but his own trauma gets in his way. His relationship with his mother is also puzzling. Seeing her happy at last, he cannot express anything to her that will bring peace to the way he feels about her, almost making her guilty for what his father decided to do with his life. The characters of Lea and Jeremie are not clearly developed. Hence, a lot of their actions leave a lot of things in viewers minds. From acting ability, all the characters do a pretty good job. I would have personally liked to see something much more substantial develop between Sam and Jeremie but I guess the focal point of this film was different which is fine.

Watch it for a peaceful, intelligent and a quiet viewing. (7/10)