Story thread · 6 reports / 5 sources

15/18 A Place to Heal review – heartfelt docu-realist study of a French teen psychiatric facility

theguardian.com · 10dShare

Venice film festival Director Cédric Kahn combines compassion with coolly detailed forensic scrutiny in this genre-challenging film which puts a troubled love triangle at the centre of the story Veteran French director Cédric Kahn brings us a movie in a classic French vein: a docu-realist study of an institution, in this case a state psychiatric facility for teenagers between 15 and 18; with scenes in treatment suites, recreation areas, dorms and interview rooms. It’s something to compare perhaps with Laurent Cantet’s The Class , or Nicolas Philibert’s On the Adamant , or Canadian film-maker Denis Côte’s That Kind of Summer . Kahn’s film is powerful and committed, although sometimes the acting comes close to shouty improv youth theatre. The tone is of course one of compassion, combined with coolly detailed forensic scrutiny, though audiences might be intrigued at Kahn’s use of Purcell’s Funeral Sentences on the soundtrack, music notably used by Kubrick in A Clockwork Orange, a film in

First report: Cédric Kahn on Immersing Himself in an Adolescent Psychiatric Ward for His Venice Competition Film ‘A Place to Heal’ (EXCLUSIVE) — variety.com, 11d