[In Eng.] « Play »: Life in Replay

Memories… We all immortalize our moments by taking photos, snaps, videos, everyday. Remembering our birthdays, our Christmas with family, seeing the children growing up, the time flying fast…Play, which will come out in 2020, is a feature movie mostly filmed with a camcorder. Rather ingenious and original isn’t it? Directed by Anthony Marciano, this movie shows, through home-made videos, the evolution of Max and his friends, from adolescence to adult life, with a certain sense of humor which is irresistible, fresh and new…

Written by Anthony Marciano and Max Boublil, the story is based on Max and his life. Everything starts at Christmas in 1993, Max (Max Boublil) gets a camcorder from his parents. Short amateur movies, school videos, excursions in nightclubs, Max never drops his camera. A lot of tapes will be used through 25 years of filming, and represent all that Max cares about: his entire life.

Low-quality images, unusual video formats, sound bugs, everything makes us believe that it happened in the 90’s. And it works! Even more with the old-fashioned clothing, the cumbersome white phones, the first Playstation which all takes people on trip down memory lane. Not to forget soundtracks composed of iconic music like: Ironic from Alanis Morisette or Wonderwall from Oasis, which will connect with the 90’s generation.

Leaning on a very solid scenario filled with a universal humour, everyone will definitely have a good time watching this comedy. The characters are very funny, like Mathias and Antoine, Max’s BFF. Emma, (Alice Isaaz, engaging), and Max (brilliant) also bring some freshness in this original French comedy.

Besides the acting, the style of the movie is blazing a trail in French cinema. A bit like Babysitting, directed by Philippe Lacheau and Nicolas Benamou, where the filming style was pioneering. These funny movies generally show short clips that enhance the story and make people believe that videos are real. It reinforces also the actors’ performances, as if they were really living the situations.

The release of Play is scheduled for January 2020, so if you didn’t have the chance to go see it during the La Roche-sur-Yon international film festival, you can always come back to La Roche-sur-Yon for New Year’s Eve!

Agathe Abélard