[Short] The Red Thread (Fil Rouge) and Izak’s Choice (Les Mains)

Fil Rouge / The Red Thread (2008)

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but to the connoisseurs, they can define a vintage right down to the vineyard and year it was created just from the smells, taste and swirl. Amazing stuff that never fail to impress me, but personally I'd still prefer to chug down a beer and get all rowdy compared to the classier alcohol of choice.

In any case Luc Plissonneau had written and directed a short film that revolves around wine and two connoisseurs, father and daughter Archilles Lambert (Bernard Gadrat) and Roxane (Anne Cazenave), the latter who had prepared four bottles in a blind taste testing session for her father, who is into the final days of his life, each carefully prepared to mark a milestone in Archilles life. This of course gives Plissonneau an opportunity to dive back into the 40s to the 70s to expand on the story and add some complexity into the production, which he does with aplomb through carefully crafted scenes in sepia and black and white.

The non-linear narrative is filled with the ups and downs of a man's life, from moments of shameful guilt brought about by the impetuousness of youth, to that of pride with the celebration of his first born in Roxanne, about memories and ultimately family, with the final scene reserved for that powerful, moving emotional bond between father and daughter that's set in a vineyard, imparting an important reminder and lesson on life, and how to live life.

You can view the film here:

Fil Rouge - "The Red Thread" (2008, 17 min) Short Film by Luc Plissonneau from Luc Plissonneau on Vimeo.

Les Mains / Izak's Choice (2011)

Writer director Luc Plissonneau latest short film Izak's Choice tells the story of a down and out pianist Izak (Ivan Illic), who for the longest time was living without passion or soul, giving lessons to just about anyone only to fuel his paltry existence. That is until one day, Lucie (Sarah Perroud) enters his life as his student, and naturally a bond and a relationship builds between the two. You'll usually hear stories about how Love can cause a change in someone deep from within, and Plissonneau's story does exactly that for its characters, especially Izak, in his ability to finally impress a panel of audition judges to give him a shot at a renowned recital.

But what's life without its tragedies? If there's a message to be brought out from this impressive short film, it is how we choose to deal and address our disabilities and our treatment of loved ones, when it's always so easy to walk out on them. The surprise that's shown 8 months later in the film proves that a disability should not just simply stop someone at their tracks, and to address that head on is something just as beautiful, even if it may shock others at the forefront, but later on impress upon that the magic doesn't just disappear. Plissonneau's film shows exactly just that through its moving musical pieces, especially the one chosen for the finale.

In a way this film served like a companion piece of The Red Thread in its emotional themes, and in the way the narrative got presented with its non-linear timeline, except that this one showed more variance in the way Plissonneau demonstrated his knack for more creative camera angles, yet keeping the story very rooted to a strong emotional core. Production values are kept high even for a short, and if Luc Plissonneau is using these films as a showreel for what he's capable of, then he's on the right track in his ambition to finally make a feature film. Recommended!

Here's the trailer: