TIFF19 'Pompei' ('Pompéi'): Film Review
In this bewitchingly made but relatively empty feature from filmmakers John Shank and Anna Falguères, it seems to be many things at once, and yet nothing at all.
Set in an unspecific time and location — somewhere between the scorched 70s-era vistas of Terence Malick’s— the film follows a trio of French 20-somethings fending for themselves in a no-man’s-land where adults are mostly absent and children left to their own devices. There’s sex , old cars, a love triangle, a handgun or two, relics from an ancient empire and plenty of dead air, but these elements don’t amount to much.
The minimalist script was co-written by Falguères, a production designer who’s worked with Mia-Hansen Love and Joachim Lafosse, and Shank, a Belgian-American director whose first feature,, played Toronto back in 2011. In a nutshell, the story follows bros Victor and 13-year-old Jimmy, who run a makeshift gas station along with their self-appointed leader, Toxou .
As chaotic as that sounds, the group finds itself on even shakier fotting with the arrival of Billie , a pixie-ish rebel who dresses and acts like the boys, and like them has a penchant for violence. Soon enough Billie and Victor are in love, casting Toxou aside and placing Jimmy — who’s about to lose his virginity — somewhere in between.
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