A couple buys their dream home after an odd visit with the realtor. Once they move in, the use they make of the portal in the basement differs from each other and things start getting disconcerting for them.
Written and directed by Quentin Dupieux, fans of his films will know what to expect… meaning the unexpected and unusual. His work is now well-known for taking seemingly simple subjects and quietly, or not so quietly at times, turning them on their heads and this is exactly what he does here. A seemingly normal couple with simple aspirations buy a seemingly simple house as their first, yet later in life, homeownership experience. Once in the house, something odd is happening and they mostly just go with the flow. Like with other Dupieux films, the odd aspect of the story is treated as almost normal here, even when this is discussed or shown, it’s not made to be extraordinary, but simple made to part of a new normal. Is it normal? No. Does it get treated as something utterly extraordinary? Also no. There is something in how Dupieux approaches his subjects that makes his films very much his own. His style is what makes this film here work. Explaining too much would take away from the experience of the story, the film, the characters, and the viewer.
The film here has a stellar cast with Alain Chabat and Léa Drucker in the leads living in this house, dealing with it in their own ways. Their work here shows different reactions to the situation at hand and their performances are quite strong, each of them giving into the low-key bizarro world their find themselves in and working through it. Playing their friends who have their own oddity in their lives are Benoît Magimel and Anaïs Demoustier and both do great bringing the just-slightly weird in their performance and in acting like all the oddities are completely normal. The performances here are very much what sells the story and its new normal. The film is stronger for having this powerfully talented cast.
The look and feel of this film is very… French? It’s difficult to describe this film, but it looks and feels like what one thinks of when they remember French cinema of the 1970s to the 1990s. The images are simple, yet composed carefully, the action is low key and well-planned, the film has not real moment that is useless, but not all moments shown really are needed in telling the story. The story is given space to live and to develop while that space is carefully molded to create an atmosphere and a world where it all makes sense.
Quentin Dupieux is a filmmaker whose films have proven over and over again that he is not afraid to take on the odd subject and whose work shows that he can and does deliver fantastic films on those subjects. Granted, not everyone loves his style of storytelling and filmmaking, but for those who do Incroyable mais vrai/Incredible but True is a great ride along with his creativity. The film is fascinating to watch when giving it unbroken attention and it’s also one that brings the viewer in with its quiet oddity, not letting them go until the last frame. This is a strong entry in the Dupieux cinematic universe and should be seen as soon as possible.
Fantasia International Film Festival 2022 runs from July 14th to August 3rd, 2022