Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE WORLD AFTER US [Berlinale 2021 - Virtual]
Some films are about ambition while other can just be about getting by. The paradox in "The World After Us" [Panorama] is that it follows Labidi, a broke novelist just trying to get ahead. His parents run a cafe/bar and though they don't have much, they are still in Paris and their son have some of the opportunities they never had. Not to say it is easy. Labidi is a novelist and has writers block. He has to work the edges to make ends meet. Then he falls in love with an alluring history student named Elisa. The timeline works reflexively pointing to a moment where everything went wrong. Though it does feel authentic, "The World After Us" never quite connects on a heart level. It does so at one moment but it is not about the central love story. It is the periphery but it is the structure there that works perfectly. It seems the makers know that older story but couldn't capitalize on as much as it could with its main characters. Whether that was simply chemistry or the gist of the story can be debated. A more parallel structure of those two love stories might have worked better in different times. But of course budget is always a consideration.
As a matter of course, Labidi is trying so hard just to prove himself. Now the metaphor and moral of the story eventually rings true in a certain way. The backdrop of the hipsters' Paris works but it never truly shows much of the outside. Now granted this seems to have been shot during COVID so these expectations need to be considered. While the film wants to show slice of life, it comes off, despite its underlying culture, fairly blase. It addresses these points but the inset of the film speaks to a deep underlying knowledge (specifically mentioning the Algerian War) but it is never brought to bear. It is a neat context that was swept a little bit under the rug in favor of more a Dreamer's goal and the heartache it takes to get thee. The issue is that the characters. while likable to a point, just don't up the bar. And when the credits roll, the music paints to an ode of what could be redeemed but the context doesn't quite fill in the stakes. C
By Tim Wassberg
