Berlin Review: Isaki Lacuesta’s ‘One Year, One Night’
deadline.comA couple struggles to process the aftermath of the Bataclan terrorist attack in One Year, One Night (Un Ano, Una Noche), an affecting Berlin Film Festival competition title from Spanish director Isaki Lacuesta (Between Two Waters).
Inspired by a book from Ramón González entitled Peace, Love and Death Metal, it’s based on recollections from real survivors of the 2015 attack in Paris, and the level of detail is compelling.We first meet Frenchwoman Céline (Noémie Merlant) and her Spanish boyfriend Ramón (Nahuel Pérez) when they are wrapped in a foil recovery blanket, wandering dazed through the Paris streets and locking eyes with other survivors as they shiver and shine in silver in the dark.The next morning, they try to carry on with their daily lives in their small Parisian apartment.
But terrifying flashbacks and anxiety attacks begin to plague Ramón. Meanwhile, Céline goes back to her work at a young people’s shelter without telling anyone she was at the concert, even when she discusses it with young people who feel at risk of random, racially motivated retaliations.Shot in intimate detail by DP Irina Lubtchansky, it’s an instantly immersive story.
Merlant and Pérez put in excellent performances and make a likable, believable couple. She’s the rock to his sensitive soul, but there’s not a trace of sentimentality in the depiction of their challenged romance.
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