Near Death Experience

After several successful and rather peculiar comedies, the directing duo of Gustave Kervern and Benoît Délépine shift their focus to the genre of psychological drama. Their humour is always nonconformist, and the protagonists are neither beautiful nor likeable. The journey of fifty-something Paul does not lack black humour, as much as you can find it in the very last pointless journey towards death. Yet the filmmakers avoid simple reconciliation and sentiment. They strive for an uncompromising portrait of a man at the end of his life, and the casting of writer Michel Houellebecq in the main role, difficult for the viewers to approach, is one great quality of this honest and surprisingly open-minded film. (Febiofest)