Sometimes, we get personal issues in life and we just need to find a way to escape them without stressing out too much. That’s what I felt like doing today. And the perfect film for the mood was Felix et Malou, another film from the abstract minds of Travelling Productions.
Usually when it comes to French films by Travelling (Productions Festives), they almost always end in an weird manner that I suppose French Canadians find funny. Felix et Malou was a bit of something different, a story about two teenagers who are neighbours (no, not in a duplex), and there are large open fields around their neighbourhood. The fields are the perfect place for someone to escape reality and just relax in their own world. The two kids also partake in other activities, such as hockey, with other kids, and Felix occasionally tries out baseball.
In the beginning, Felix (Julian Marotte) is simply playing video games but can’t get any peace when his arrogant father (Patrice Dussault) and ill-mannered mother (Sonia Derome) start arguing. Stepping outside to relax on the back porch, Felix sits by himself until his mother comes out scaring him away. Malou (Jessie-Anne Pomerleau) meets up with Felix and the two rush out to the middle of the field where they lie together as the moon rises.
Felix says his mother is always angry, making him feel uncomfortable. Malou comes across her own issues when her father (Luc Chapdelaine) suggests that she should find another sport to play, because someone in charge of sports decided kids’ hockey should be a male only sport and nobody’s going to build a girls’ locker room. Storming out of the house, Malou meets Felix and hugs him, not sure what else to do. They head out to the field once more, Malou wondering what she’ll do without hockey.
The ending is rather peaceful itself and shows how to deal with things in a calm manner. The cinematography of the field was astounding, kinda wish I lived in a neighbourhood like that.