What makes Alice Winocour’s brutalising thriller so genius is that it just focuses on the human consequences of terrorism. Despite being inspired by November 2015 Bataclan attacks that led to loss of over 100 lives, the film does not care about governmental formalities, the motivation behind terrorists or details of police investigations (in contrast to Cédric Jimenez’s glossy copaganda version of these same subjects in his recently released film November). The first-person perspective of Paris Memories – shooting Mia crouching behind a table while bullets are flying all over and around her – reflects as well as echoes the excruciating pain experienced during a close encounter with death, which necessitated internal strength to rise up and pick through ruins.
Virginie Efira is an actress known for her self-control (Benedetta), she knows that there are moments in life so important they divide time into ‘before’ and ‘after’. In her award-winning performance at this year’s César, she acquires great power in her subtlety. Mia changes slowly as we watch her throughout the film; this transformation mirrors different elements of trauma response: initially disoriented then practiced calm before finally finding real strength to visit the scene repeatedly searching for clues. These sudden jarring flashbacks into past that cuts across narration like Mia’s own history defines Winocour’s depiction of a splintering psyche.
Paris Memories may be a protagonist-driven flick but its structure reinforces its own message about building community by giving voice to others survived the attack. Starting from Efira’s voiceover itself, it incorporates testimonials from cooks working in café, waitresses and customers who rend their experiences open with rawness in every instance. Trauma may leave ripples but Paris Memories is not always about sadness; it has an empathetic and solidary tone. One hand held in darkness can lift the human spirit according to empathy showcased within this movie.
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