The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


Cannes Film Festival 2015

Une Histoire de Fou (Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad)

Cannes Film Festival 2015: Une Histoire de Fou (Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad) | Review
22 May 2015
Nina Hudson
Nina Hudson
Avatar
Nina Hudson
22 May 2015

Movie and show review

Nina Hudson

Une Histoire de Fou (Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad)

★★★★★

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

Cannes Film Festival 2015

13th to 24th May 2015

Set in the 1980s, Une Histoire de Fou (Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad) examines the fallout of the Armenian genocide and its continued influence on subsequent generations. Although loosely based on real events, the story is embellished and fictionalised by Robert Guédiguian, who here offers up a cautionary tale about the banality of violence while calling into question the methods of Armenian freedom fighters.

A sense of patriotism for his Armenian roots leads Aram (Syrus Shahidi), a young man from Marseilles, to conspire in the assassination of a Turkish ambassador. The explosion leaves a passing cyclist, Gilles (Grégorie Leprince-Ringuet), severely injured. Aram flees from France and joins the Liberation Army in Beirut to continue fighting for “the cause”, but soon finds his own ideals to be at odds with those of his comrades.

Meanwhile, Aram’s mother (Ariane Ascaride) seeks out Gilles and to him confesses her son’s involvement in the attack. Fighting to overcome his bitterness, this encounter eventually forms a bond between Gilles and Aram’s family; a circumstance that demonstrates an incredible, if not slightly implausible, generosity of spirit on the victim’s part.

The black-and-white prologue to the story does an admirable job of involving the viewer in the historical background on which the rest of the story relies. This ensures a tolerance for Aram’s passionate, radical views without compromising his ability to inspire viewer compassion.

Alternating between Aram’s storyline and those he left behind, the film builds a crucial but fairly anticlimactic meeting between two main characters. Nonetheless, the evidently noble intentions of the film, along with earnest and consistent performances, make for a heartfelt, impactful tale.

★★★★★

Nina Hudson

Une Histoire de Fou (Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad) does not yet have a UK release date.

Read more of our reviews and interviews from the festival here.

For further information about Cannes Film Festival 2015 visit here.

Related Items

More in Cannes

A Prayer Before Dawn

★★★★★
Sam Gray
Read More

The Beguiled: An interview with Sofia Coppola – Cannes 2017 best director

The editorial unit
Read More

The Square: Ruben Ostlund on directing and writing the Palme d’Or film

The editorial unit
Read More

Cannes 2017 winner The Square: Reviews roundup

The editorial unit
Read More

A look at Cannes 2017 winner The Square: Three new clips

The editorial unit
Read More

Cannes 2017 winners: All the reviews

The editorial unit
Read More

L’Amant Double (The Double Lover): An interview with Marine Vacth

The editorial unit
Read More

L’Amant Double (The Double Lover): An interview with François Ozon

The editorial unit
Read More

Redoutable: An interview with Stacy Martin

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Nina Hudson

Une Histoire de Fou (Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad)

★★★★★

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

Cannes Film Festival 2015

13th to 24th May 2015

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Project Gastronomía: How will Londoners eat in 2050? A symposium on gastronomy and multisensory design
    Food & Drinks
  • Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Tribeca Film Festival 2018: On the red carpet with the stars of Westworld season 2
    Cinema
  • Half Breed
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • 10 cute sandals for spring
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Justin Nozuka at the Garage
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • The Outsider
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sherlock Gnomes premiere: A chat with James McAvoy, his co-stars and the film’s creators
    Cinema
  • Tokio Myers at the Forum
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beast
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Lisa Stansfield at the London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Bat Out of Hell at the Dominion Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong. Response takes too long or there is JS error. Press Ctrl+Shift+J or Cmd+Shift+J on a Mac.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • New London restaurant openings and pop-ups
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Subscribe
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Cannes Film Festival 2015: Nie Yinniang (The Assassin) | Review
Cannes Film Festival 2015: The Little Prince | Review