With the 38th Cesars Ceremony last night which illuminated the magic and grandeur of the French 7th Art, I thought it was the right moment to talk about the soon-to-be released Mauritian movie named Julie. I, of course, couldn't let this premiere in the Mauritian audiovisual landscape go 'unblogged' about. Here's our review! Let's start with what the movie is about. "Julie" is a Mauritian feature film about a little girl of French origin, who escapes from a genocide in a newly independent country on the East Coast of Africa. Saved in extremis, Julie & her father, Dr Jeunet, who has been shot in the leg during their escape, are evacuated to Mauritius. There they stay in a hospital until Dr Jeunet will be fit enough to return to France with Julie. So, that's the description the Mauriwood FIAA has to offer. From the title, we all get that our protagonist here is the young French girl. Yet, what is the intrigue about? It seems to me that the description does not SELL itself as it should. I do agree that you get the starting storyline: there's a genocide happening in some African country and the family flees to Mauritius to then fly back to their motherland, France. Okay. But what next? Is that what the whole movie is going to be about? Their escape and getting better to fly back? Let's assume it is, did they just not get us a complete resume of the movie? There's little room for speculation and interest in the public. Minus mark! Let's talk some more about the way the movie is being marketed. Here's the Trailer: Firstly, the title of the video [Sortie Mars 2013] isn't helpful at all! It does not mention the name of the movie or the fact that it's actually a trailer. It actually doesn't match what is found on the movie's webpage [Link] which states "JULIE coming soon in summer 2012! You were one year late, the least you could do was update your webpage!
Secondly, the video itself doesn't say much about the movie. I mean, we get the 'opening image' of the genocide, but little Julie (I think she's so cute by the way!) and her father, Dr Jeunet, are barely seen and HEARD in the 72 seconds of the trailer. Without us connecting with the main characters' story, it's hard to actually want to go see the movie. As for the voice-off, I'm sorry but it's quite disturbing innit? I say, the best form of flattery is imitation and generally speaking, we Mauritians are good at imitation, so why not here? A trailer gets through the juicy parts with a perfectly timed voice over in some sort of accelerated climax with a cliffhanger ending which actually creates the whole momentum towards going to see the movie. This trailer actually made me frown at the end. That evil laugh is simply odd. Should we understand that the French family not only escapes the genocide but are being tracked down by the 'bad guys' as well? If all this movie talks about the manhunt, why the need for the genocide? This question brings me to the movie itself, in terms of storyline. There's a genocide in an African country and, from the images, black people are being murdered by hundreds. How come then that a French family living in that newly independent country are facing similar conditions? A Genocide, as Wikipedia describes, is the "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group" - so if a genocide is happening against black people, white people would logically not be killed. But hey, who am I to be so fussy? Anyway, let's assume that starting point is credible. They chose a country on the East Coast, which geographically makes it logical for the protagonists to flee to Mauritius. Let's assume the trip is short enough to allow the injured father to survive until surgery in Mauritius. Then, apparently, the father and daughter stay in hospital until Dr Jeunet is fit enough for flying. Oh and, Julie is described as an Action Movie. I think it's a laudable effort and super important initiative in Mauritius and I am honestly humbled towards their will-power - it took 3 years to shoot and produce the movie! Still, this release talks about the lack of Audiovisual media specialist in the country. There is no update on the webpage. The release date is a year behind. Even the promo picture you can find online stipulates "Sortie Ete 2012"! These are tiny details which, to me, make the whole difference. Another example are these closing lines on the webpage: " This Mauritian feature film produced by Quadricolore Films & Entertainment Ltd & which contains a lot of thrilling action & emotional scenes is undergoing the last stages of production. Keep in touch, more details about this production which will première this summer will be available soon." The first line is simply NOT standard English and this alone talks about the lack of professionalism on behalf of the marketing/producing team. They are selling IMAGE, and yet the entry portal to what they are selling is simply not mistake-free. See why English is primordial at school! The closing statement is just too colloquial to my taste. So, yes, I applaud this effort at being the pioneers of the Mauritian film industry, but without professionals in scriptwriting, Visual Arts, creative writing, acting and shooting crews the industry will never truly rise to fame or recognition. This is why I also think it's the appropriate time to urge all those students out their who recently received their HSC results: do what you love, what you want to do in life. Don't be afraid to embrace careers which are not currently recognized in Mauritius. Be bold, be daring with a hope to bringing your passion to the professional level and making Mauritius proud of its professionals in all the work sectors! I know I will watch Julie, out March 6 in cinemas, and hopefully blog about it post-viewing! What do you think of the movie so far? Will you be out on March 6 getting your ticket? How would you rate the scenario? We'd love to know! Sine Cera *No Copyright Infringements were intended with any of the pictures on this page. All of the pictures belong to Mauriwood FIAA.
1 Comment
Oozeer Ahmad
10/3/2022 08:28:14 pm
Where can i find the film
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