Le feu follet

A bleak character study of a recovering alcoholic who has lost all hope and decides to kill himself. The film follows him over the course of a couple of days as he wanders about the streets, running into and saying goodbye to former acquaintances. One senses that he's trying out of a last ditch sense of desperation to tease out of these people some hint of how they manage to find things worth living for, but their secrets remain elusive. He carries out his plan, and the film makes the rather unsettling suggestion that some never find anything worth living for.

Not a comforting thought for those who struggle through depressions of their own and look to the positive messages so often found in films to buoy their hopes. But then this movie is not intended to be comforting. It's quiet, lonely, and depressing, but it's also a bit refreshing that director Louis Malle resists a happy resolution and instead stays committed to depicting life the way it actually plays out for some rather than the way the movies would have us believe it does.

Grade: A