In The Whirlwind of Lifea moving drama broadcast on France 2 on Sunday December 15 at 9:10 p.m., a pianist played by the talented Lou de Laagence reflects on her choices and the consequences on her existence.
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if your decisions and actions had been different? The famous question “What if…?” This is the starting point of Whirlwind of life, beautiful film about coincidences and encounters that change destinies. Released in December 2022, it went relatively unnoticed, recording only 200,000 entries. It must be said that he faced the tidal wave Avatar 2: the way of water, of which the sequel Avatar 3 will be announced soon. Its broadcast this Sunday, December 15 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2 is a great opportunity to discover both the astonishing mechanics of its scenario and its excellent cast.
When the magic of cinema allows everything
In 1989, in Amsterdam, Julia was 17 when the Berlin Wall fell. With her friends, she decides to leave everything to reach the German capital. In another reality, she loses her passport and will not be able to join her gang. From there, two Julias lead fundamentally distant lives: one stays to make her life in Berlin, the other prepares to become a concert performer in France… How is this possible? That’s the magic of cinema. You can experience all versions of yourself there. Co-written by Olivier Treiner, the director, and his wife Camille Treiner (co-creator of the series The Fighters), the film also questions the idea of predestination through the character of Paul (Raphaël Personnaz), whom Julia meets in a bookstore. This young doctoral student seeks to prove that chance obeys mathematical laws. His quest offers an interesting counterpoint: can we predict what happens to us? Filmed in full confinement, the director was not able to go and shoot in Amsterdam, Berlin or Tokyo. All the sets were therefore recreated and the filming required 87 different filming locations.
Lou de Laage, chameleon and magnetic actress in The Whirlwind of Life
Throughout the story, we follow Julia as a mother with drawn features or even as a solitary musician performing in New York. And if this tangle of possibilities works, it is thanks to the interpretation of Lou de Laagence (discovered in Breathe). Following it, we go through a whole range of emotions linked to success, first emotions, arguments, motherhood, breakups or even the pain of illness and the loss of loved ones. At his side, Grégory Gadebois and Isabelle Carré, who we recently saw in The Tasting with Bernard Campan, bring a lot of humanity to Julia’s parents. Esther Garrel (sister of Louis), Denis Podalydès and Aliocha Schneider, one of the main characters of Greek salad by Cédric Kapisch, talentedly complete the casting of this romantic drama, a little nugget which deserves better than a discreet theatrical release.
