Under the Corsican sun, a dark, harsh and poignant thug and family film: The Kingdom by Julien Colonna.
This article comes from Figaro Magazine.
They are of the same blood, but do not know each other. She, a high school student, motherless, vaguely in love with a boy her age, fascinated by the universe that surrounds dad and in which she grows up: eternal Corsica, beautiful, wild, violent, ritual, masculine. He, Pierre-Paul, his father, hidden, hunted, made for the education of a young girl like Louis Boyard for rhythmic gymnastics, and only living to maintain the unity of his clan of thugs and to keep himself alive . Summer Comes (1995). Lesia is sent by her aunt on vacation to her father's house, who lives as a recluse in a villa, surrounded by his relatives who are hungry for work: that of gangsters. But friendly crooks. Polis. Gallants. Respectful.
Problem number 1 : his arrival coincides with an upsurge in violence on the island. Armed attacks and car explosions follow one another. For once, the nationalists have nothing to do with it. We're just trying to get under the skin of Pierre Paul. Destroy his clan. Response from the Corsican shepherd to the shepherdess, bloody reprisals, etc.: we know the song. Sad polyphony.
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Problem number 2 : the little one wants to participate in the fight. Less out of an atavistic taste for violence than to finally attract his father's attention. How do you say “Electra complex” in Corsican?
Problem number 3: Lesia proves to be quite talented in helping the gang. Her character and temperament do the rest: she is accepted.
Problem number 4 : Pierre-Paul discovers an unsuspected paternal instinct. Now, how can we apprehend all its beauties, if not by keeping Lesia close to him. At the heart of danger.
Problem number 5which is actually the real problem number one: we are in Corsica, where many family stories end badly. As in the Greek or Shakespearean kingdoms.
A dazzling atmospheric film, Julien Colonna's film proves that it is possible to tell and show Corsica, its soul, its cruelty and its splendor without being called Jérôme Ferrari. Both harsh and moving, a family chronicle and film noir using western codes, The Kingdom (in theaters November 13) relies on a solid script, a shocking (albeit predictable) ending and two serious and fair performances: Ghjuvanna Benedetti and Saveriu Santucci.
