The opening scenes of a group of Parisian teenagers, walking home in almost pitch-black, set the unconventional tone of Eden. From here, we are drawn into the world of Paul Vallée (Félix de Givry) and a trance of love, drugs, and continual music.
Paul and his friend form Garage DJ-ing duo, Cheers, in their early twenties. Like Paul, his friends are young, beautiful and artistic. They shun the conformist path of university and stable employment in favour of following their ideals. In two parts, with several time segments of two-three years, we see them develop through the nineties and noughties.
Mia Hansen-Løve’s film is sparse on plot points, but that feels like that was the intention. Eden is a refreshingly realistic portrayal of a person following a dream. It was written with her brother, based on his experiences of the Parisian music scene and it shuns the ever-familiar and over-dramatised storytelling of the underdog becoming a rising star. Instead, Paul chooses to pursue his DJ-ing passion as a career, at the expense of financial stability and the respect of his mother. He is obviously in love with music and it truly feels like a hard slog.
The club scenes are euphoric and uplifting, in contrast to the bleak reality of Paul’s days and romantic relationships. Félix de Givry gives an admirable performance, appearing in practically every scene. He plays Paul with a Peter Pan quality and seems to change very little in the time intervals we see. His past loves move on and start families, while he stays still.
The repletion of the parties can feel hard-going as they’re not packaged neatly into a Rocky-style montage in order to make way for the extreme highs and lows. In fact, Paul’s successes and setbacks pass by insignificantly. There’s a change a pace when the group follow Cheers to DJ in New York and Chicago, but there’s no explanation of why this is happening and what it could lead to.
Eden feels like a labour of love from Hansen-Løve. The soundtrack (featuring Daft Punk) and club scenes, with what must be thousands of extras, can’t have been easy to put together, but it certainly kept my foot tapping throughout. The film definitely won’t be for everyone; it drew a modest crowd on its opening night at Broadway and there were a couple of walkers about thirty minutes in, but, despite this, the film feels deserving of its critical acclaim.
Eden gives a sincere and current insight into the lives of young people and the impact of musical trends changing when people’s passions don’t. Like a rave, this film demands stamina and feels like an enjoyable endurance test.
Eden is showing at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 6 August 2015.
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