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Synopsis
Le Clan is a film about men and their complex, often difficult, relationships with each other. The title refers to a tight-knit family of three brothers - Marc (Nicholas Cazale), Christophe (Stephane Rideau) and Olivier (Thomas Dumerchez) – who have all been scarred by the death of their mother and are raging against their distant, cold father. The picture postcard setting of the story in a lakeside Alpine village belies an ugly underbelly of drugs, violence and acute boredom.

Verdict
Despite its wide horizons and clear blue-mountain skies, Le Clan is a claustrophobic film. The three brothers are trapped by poverty, a lack of opportunity and only the love that they have for one another to keep them from descending into a mire of desperation and despair.

Director Gael Morel delights in the sexiness of his subjects and provides us with plenty of lingering shots of their taut muscular bodies. Strangely for such an erotic film there is little actual sex, with no more than a quick fuck between Marc and a reluctant transvestite, and later a passionate clinch between Olivier and Hicham.

The conclusion of the film is both frustrating and touching in equal measure. There may be no Hollywood happy ending here, but what could have been a dark tale is lifted by the strong performances, particularly from Cazale and Dumerchez.

Director: Gael Morel
Cast: Nicholas Cazale, Stephane Rideau, Thomas Dumerchez
Released: 30 January 2012

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