La tour

At times one wonders how certain films presented in festivals as prestigious as the American Film Festival of Deauville are chosen and especially how one can write a review that easily takes an hour to give one's opinion on a film when it is so bad that it represents a real waste of time and energy.  Guillaume Nicloux's new film has the unique quality that it only lasts ninety minutes and gives the impression that a short film has been stretched in all directions to make it a movie (well, if we can call it a feature film in this case).

While some American studios have at least the courage not to release a film even if it is shot in its entirety and has cost more than a hundred millions but does not reach the expected quality, this film risks to tour some festivals to try to find its audience but risks to be released directly on video on demand especially when we see the price of a ticket and the important choice of the proposed films.

The film The Tower is in some ways the same idea as the excellent short story by Stephen King The Mist adapted to the cinema by Frank Darabont but also in the form of a series, that is to say a strange fog that surrounds a suburban building and cuts it off from all external communication and makes it impossible for anyone to get out alive. With such a start, the scenario could have proposed something interesting and not this story of clan struggle between neighbors and the creation of a cult. There was such a potential that the final result is totally disappointing and especially lacks rhythm and inspired photography.

Certainly The Tower was the worst film discovered in the cinema for a long time and one wonders how such a work can find not only important funds but also receive a warm welcome from the public. For our part this film is a real waste of time and would have deserved a better script and more spectacular special effects. A real disappointment

The Tower
Written and directed by Guillaume Nicloux
Produced by Sylvie Pialat & Bruno Nahon 
Starring Angèle Mac, Hatik, Ahmed Abdel-Laoui, Kylian Larmonie, Merveille Nsombi, Nicolas Pignon, Igor Kovalsky, Marie Rémond, Judith Williquet, Modeste Nzapassara, Coline Béal, Kévin Bago
Music by Tim Hecker
Cinematography : Christophe Offenstein
Edited by Guy Lecorne 
Production companies :  Les Films du Worso, UNITÉ
Distributed by Wild Bunch
Running time : 90 minutes

Seen on September 3, 2022 at the Deauville International Centre

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