A profoundly moving examination of post-traumatic stress and the ability for humanity to emerge amidst turmoil, Paris Memories is grippingly touching. Virginie Efira, last seen in Paul Verhoeven’s controversial Benedetta, is superb as Mia – a translator working for radio, caught up in a terrorist shooting in Paris. Having blanked out her memories of most of the events, she’s left unsure exactly what happened to her, and the film follows Mia as she gradually pieces this together, meeting others also dealing with the aftereffects of the attack.
There is Benoit Magimel’s Thomas, who laughed at her as he celebrated his birthday that night and now has legs littered with bullet fragments and a fear of busy public spaces. Nastya Golubeva’s Felicia searches for clues as to her parents’ last moments – whilst others in this group refuse to accept what they may, or may not, have done that night. It’s all beautifully and humanely handled by director Alice Winocour – whose brother Jêrémie survived the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks (the film is dedicated to him). Details he told Alice have filtered into the script, from the fear of a mobile phone call revealing his position to idle thoughts of half-eaten food in his own fridge.
Efira’s quiet, determined and moving performance drives the whole film, however – her little moments of memory reclamation fluttering believably, and without thespian fireworks across her face. Her determination to find the man who held her hand that night, and the inability to live her life in the same way ever again, is grounded and profoundly believable. Winocour does not try and recreate the unbearable horror of that night: with glimpses of the bloodshed kept to a minimum as we stay at Mia’s viewpoint hidden from the floor, this makes the film immersive and even more powerful.
The film does not point blame, however; concentrating on healing, communion and humanity and is all the stronger for it. Paris Memories is a film of immense empathy, told calmly and powerfully.
Dir: Alice Winocour (15, 103 mins)
Paris Memories is in cinemas from Fri 4 Aug
words KEIRON SELF