Les Amandiers, with Nadia Tereszkiewicz, César for Best Newcomer: our opinion

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi 's fifth feature film behind the camera, Les Amandiers was presented in official competition at the Cannes 2022 festival. In it, the director delves into the depths of her memories, looking back on her early acting career at the Amandiers theater school in Nanterre, a modern, experimental structure created by Patrice Chéreau (Louis Garrel) and Pierre Romans (Micha Lescot).

Trailer of the movie Les amandiers:

The film kicks off with a lively casting session to determine which budding young actors will be lucky enough to enter the school and benefit from the knowledge and advice of the legendary director, played by Louis Garrel, who is full of angst, love of words and all kinds of excess . The troupe quickly became a band of friends and began rehearsing Platonov, a play Chekhov wrote when he was 18.

But the emulation of the mid-80s is quickly overtaken by the appearance of the AIDS virus and the trivialization of drugs, which lurk behind the scenes and interfere in the lives of the characters, particularlyEtienne (Sofiane Bennacer), a sort of tortured young Marlon Brando who intrigues as much as he exasperates. This dark shadow floats over the blond, sensual Stella - the heroine played by the stunning Nadia Tereszkiewicz, whose big, expressive eyes and sulky face pierce us - and it's an entire era that wavers.

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The boundaries between characters and actors become porous, and all emotions are exacerbated - we shout, laugh and cry as much on stage as off - at a time when this troupe of pretty young people is about to experience its greatest first times in cataclysmic fashion: first trip to New York, first passionate and carnal love affairs, first fears, first mourning.

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi has written an intimate, personal autofiction in which we can all see a little of ourselves.

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