Heal the Living

This film screens as part of Pix Rendez-Vous. The section is a collaboration between Oslo Pix and Institut Français, and includes nine French titles at this year’s programme. It is a continuation of the festival Rendez-Vous with French film, which for many years has presented the remarkable quality of contemporary French cinema to a Norwegian audience.

A human heart is the main character in Katell Quillévéré's ensemble drama Heal the Living. The heart belongs to 17-year-old Simon, who is declared brain dead after an accident early in the film. The event affects not only his friends and family, but the staff at a large French hospital, and Claire, a mother in her fifties. The film introduces us to many characters, yet it manages to portray them as people of flesh and blood. In a time when way too much emphasis is put on what separates people from one another, the film shows us how people from very different walks of life are bound together by coincidence and the fragile nature of life. It reveals family secrets, depicts nature in all its marvel, and describes in great detail the use of modern medical technology – all within the framework of a feature film. Heal the Living will make your heart beat faster, not least thanks to its musical score, composed by the Academy Aaward-winning Alexandre Desplat. CF

Katell Quillévéré (b. 1980) is a French director and scriptwriter, born in Côte d'Ivoire. She has studied philosophy in addition to film and directed several short films before her debut feature in 2010, Love Like Poison. Heal the Living is something of an international breakthrough for her and was very well received after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2016.