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

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Berlin Film Festival 2016

Ma Révolution (My Revolution)

Berlin Film Festival 2016: Ma Révolution (My Revolution) | Review
23 February 2016
Melissa Hoban
Avatar
Melissa Hoban
23 February 2016

Movie and show review

Melissa Hoban

Ma Révolution (My Revolution)

★★★★★

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

Berlin Film Festival 2016

11th to 21st February 2016

 

The empty cobbled streets of Paris make for the perfect setting for the strong themes of childhood innocence and generational differences in My Revolution. Director Ramzi Ben Sliman’s debut film has its world premiere at the Berlinale in the Generation section.

Populated by fantastic visuals, including running tracking shots and intermittent pulled soft-focus camera work, My Revolution embodies the carefree essence of childhood antics.

It follows the ascent of ostracised teen Marwaan (Samuel Vincent) as he uses his Tunisian routes to absorb the mystery and intrigue of a young revolutionist fighting for the Arab Spring. His motives however are far from the ideals of his parents, as he fights to capture the attention of a girl in his class, Syngrid (Anamaria Vartolomei), rather than reconcile himself with his much neglected  roots. The juxtaposition of setting the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia against the “revolution” of a boy moving into adolescence makes for a playful watch, inclusive to both youth and adults – much like the revolution it is based on.

Initially following the antics of Marwaan and his whimsical friend Felix (Lucien Le Guern) enables a heavy topic to remain engaging by exploring it with amusing nostalgia. But Sliman, along with co-writers Thomas Cailley (Love at First Fight) and Nathalie Saugeon fail to fully develop the sharp cultural and generational observations seen in the first half of the film. The finale offers a rather anaemic finish with the family moving to Tunisia to join the Jasmine Revolution. Here, the focus remains on a love sick Marwaan’s loss without delving into the experiences of a Parisian teen in Tunisia and the effect embracing the “homeland” may have on his adolescent revolution.

The film has all the components to make it a hit, with a budget to film in two countries (Paris and Tunisia). Casting director Francois Guignard balances the strong talent of Vartolomei (nominated for a Lumiere award for most promising young actress 2012) with the fresh naturalism of first-timers Vincent and Le Guern, making for an endearing combination. All this is supported by a jazz soundtrack from composer Julien Lourau that manages to encompass both Parisian and Arabic sounds in one track. The plot just fails to fulfil the promise.

Still, as a directing debut My Revolution is a feel-good tale of love, youth and teen angst.

★★★★★

Melissa Hoban

Ma Révolution (My Revolution) does not have a UK release date yet.

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

For further information about Berlin Film Festival 2016 visit here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Berlinale

A Little Love Package

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

Sonne

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

Gangubai Kathiawadi

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

“I was always trying to find this equilibrium between improvising and following the script”: Carla Simón on Golden Bear-winning Alcarràs

Sarah Bradbury
Read More

A E I O U – A Quick Alphabet of Love: An interview with Nicolette Krebitz

Selina Sondermann
Read More

Berlinale 2022: Awards predictions and highlights from the festival

Selina Sondermann
Read More

Concerned Citizen

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

So-seol-ga-ui yeong-hwa (The Novelist’s Film)

★★★★★
Selina Sondermann
Read More

Rimini: An interview with director Ulrich Seidl

Selina Sondermann
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Melissa Hoban

Ma Révolution (My Revolution)

★★★★★

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

Berlin Film Festival 2016

11th to 21st February 2016

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • “Theatre is totally unique… there’s simply nothing else quite like it”: An interview with Sir Howard Panter as the new cast of Jersey Boys opens at Trafalgar Theatre
    Theatre
  • Midsummer Mechanicals at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • What Josiah Saw
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • South Facing Festival: Richard Ashcroft and his band were on impressive form from start to finish
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Ed Fringe 2022: Hungry
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Eiffel
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Five Days at Memorial
    ★★★★★
    apple
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • South Facing Festival: Richard Ashcroft and his band were on impressive form from start to finish
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Five Days at Memorial
    ★★★★★
    apple
  • South Facing Festival: Richard Ashcroft and his band were on impressive form from start to finish
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Jersey Boys bring on a new cast at Trafalgar Theatre
    Theatre
  • Prey
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Emilio de la Morena autumn/winter 2016 collection catwalk show | LFW
Berlin Film Festival 2016: Mani Haghighi: An interview with the director of Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad! (A Dragon Arrives!)