Gagarine

"What a remarkable debut for Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh as feature film directors. 'Gagarine' is one of those sunny films that surprises us when we look at the directors' filmography. After all, the production about a building that is going to be demolished could have followed many uninteresting paths. But it follows the most delicate one possible. At the center of the story is Youri (Alseni Bathily). He is a 16-year-old boy who lives alone in this housing complex - his mother, after all, lives somewhere else and has almost no contact with the boy; while his father died some time ago. The imminent demolition of the building, then, is the boy's nightmare. Where will he live? How will he do without the building that is his reference? In addition, in the meantime, Liatard and Trouilh insert details into the story that make it clear that the protagonist is on the autism spectrum. There is never any spectacular treatment of the character's condition - as in the terrible 'Music'. Everything is done with great care. After all, the movie does not put the various visual clichés that involve the theme. The boy's obsession with space travel, for example, serves the plot, with a very functional aspect, integrating the boy's obsession with the desire to save the building. Moreover, the boy's journey to save the building is beautiful. Not only does it have the question of a necessary predictability in his life, but it is also the last direct link to his family, mother and father. A movie to be moved and traveled with all its delicacy and sensitivity."