Signed by Corsican director Julien Colonna, “The Kingdom” released on November 13 tells the story of the love of a father and his daughter in a world subjected to the violence of clan wars on the Isle of Beauty. A ride that is both tough and sensitive.
“The Kingdom”, Julien Colonna’s first feature film, transports us to the summer of 1995 in Corsica, in the Ajaccio region. It depicts a daily life marked by the violence of clan wars, through the eyes of Lesia, a fifteen-year-old teenager.
Daughter of clan chief Pierre-Paul, Lesia joins her father for a few days in an isolated villa. Although they are of the same blood, they don’t really know each other. Against the backdrop of a vendetta, Pierre-Paul understands that he is the target of a rival clan.
Lesia must follow him in a breathless chase. She then discovers a world of fear, flight and death. She knows that these moments shared with her father are precious and that her “kingdom” can disappear in an instant.
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Authentic and complex characters
Julien Colonna, originally from Corsica, draws on the veracity of a context he knows well. He is the son of the late Jean-Jé Colonna, nicknamed “the last Corsican godfather”. However, the director insists in the Vertigo program on November 11, on the fact that “The Kingdom” is not an autobiographical film: “‘The Kingdom’ remains a pure cinema fiction. Neither I nor anyone else can claim to have lived the story we see in this film.
The desire to make this feature film and explore the meaning of filiation came to him six years ago, when he learned that he was going to become a father. He wonders: what father will he be for this child? How will this child perceive him as a father? And he thinks back to his childhood with a father figure belonging to this dark and secret world of thugs: “I thought about writing this story about a father and his child who, during a run that goes wrong, would learn to to know, understand and love each other.
>> Listen to the interview with Julien Colonna in Vertigo:
Collateral victims of vendettas
In “The Kingdom”, the director keeps his distance both from moralism and from the apology of a certain criminality. Julien Colonna’s thugs are neither sacred nor fantasized. Above all, they are men who live in fear and isolation. A harsh and cold reality that the director wanted to convey: “Show them in the grip of this fear which never leaves them. The fear of losing a friend every day. The fear of leaving behind a widow or an orphan. And the fear, of course, of accepting the outcome of what the Italians call ‘malavita'”.
The film doesn’t just tell a story of clan war. He is also interested in collateral victims, particularly women, who silently suffer the consequences of the actions of their loved ones. “The Kingdom” stands out for its ability to combine a captivating plot with a sensitive exploration of family and human relationships.
Comments collected by Anne Laure Gannac
Adaptation web: Sébastien Foggiato
“The Kingdom” by Julien Colonna, with Ghjuvanna Benedetti and Saveriu Santucci. To be seen in French theaters from November 13, 2024.
