The Five Devils

Name: The Five Devils
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Released: March 24, 2023
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 68
Cast: Ad, Antonia Buresi, Charlotte Bon Bornier, Daphne Patakia, Hugo Dillon

2023

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Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

MUBI | Release Date: March 24, 2023 | Not Rated

Starring: Ad, Antonia Buresi, Charlotte Bon Bornier, Daphne Patakia, Hugo Dillon, Moustapha Mbengue, Noée Abita, Patrick Bouchitey, Sally Dramé, Swala Emati

Movie Facts:

Streaming on MUBI May 12, 2023.

Summary: Vicky (Sally Dramé), a strange and solitary little girl, has a magical gift: she can reproduce any scent she likes, and collects them in a series of carefully labelled jars. She has secretly captured the scent of Joanne (Adèle Exarchopoulos), her mother for whom she nurtures a wild, excessive love. When her father’s sister Julia (SwalaVicky (Sally Dramé), a strange and solitary little girl, has a magical gift: she can reproduce any scent she likes, and collects them in a series of carefully labelled jars. She has secretly captured the scent of Joanne (Adèle Exarchopoulos), her mother for whom she nurtures a wild, excessive love. When her father’s sister Julia (Swala Emati) bursts into their life, Vicky reproduces her smell and is transported into dark and archaic memories which lead her to uncover the secrets of her village, her family and her own existence.… Expand

Director: Léa Mysius

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 103 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Tara Brady

Mar 24, 2023

Léa Mysius’s accomplished second feature is the time-travelling, olfactory-driven LGBTQ romance and family melodrama you couldn’t possibly have seen coming. Read full review

The Film Stage Alistair Ryder

Mar 1, 2023

It’s a deeply transfixing sophomore feature that, beneath genre artifice, tells a much more direct tale of familial bonds than her debut. Overlook the mysterious time-traveling conceit and you’ll find an irresistibly prickly drama about family and generational trauma. Read full review

Empire Sophie Butcher

Mar 24, 2023

Adèle Exarchopoulos excels in this dark, elemental drama. A sensory delight that marks Léa Mysius as a filmmaker to get excited about. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Mar 22, 2023

In the end, there’s insufficient emotional pay-off or psychological insight here to justify the credibility-defying tricks and narrative convolutions. But the kid is adorable and Exarchopoulos, as the hot and cold Joanne, is believable at every moment, in a film more attuned to mood and sensation than literal meaning. Read full review

Noel Murray

May 12, 2023

The Five Devils saves some of the juiciest revelations for its final act, which can make the comparatively coy first hour feel frustratingly oblique at times. But this alluring and sneakily emotional film is never confusing. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Apr 5, 2023

The “Ava” director is more ambitious than successful this time around. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Mar 22, 2023

Somehow it doesn’t all come together, delivering neither the stab of actual fear nor the satisfaction of real, plausible psychological insight. Read full review

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alanpotter17

May 16, 2023

O filme certamente tem personagens marcantes, numa família inter-racial cuja filha tem dons olfativos bem superiores à média, e estabelece um grande vínculo afetivo com a mãe, sendo a mãe a única personagem branca daquele microuniverso.
A partir daí o roteiro vai sendo construído de formaO filme certamente tem personagens marcantes, numa família inter-racial cuja filha tem dons olfativos bem superiores à média, e estabelece um grande vínculo afetivo com a mãe, sendo a mãe a única personagem branca daquele microuniverso.
A partir daí o roteiro vai sendo construído de forma muito competente, perpassando por vários caminhos, do trabalho do pai que se vê como bombeiro em um país europeu ao bullying sofrido pela garota da escola. Aqui os episódios, embora quase gratuitos, vão servindo para traçarmos as personalidades de cada um.
Mas nada comparável à cena cotidiana entre mãe e a filha, quando a mãe resolve nadar em um lago gelado, com a filha passando no corpo da mãe algum creme para lhe proteger do frio e ainda cronometra o tempo em que ela pode ficar exposta à água gelada, assoprando o apito ao cabo do período. Uma espécie de ritual entre as duas.
A rotina daquela família, que já era marcada por dores étnicas e geracionais, é abalada quando a tia da garota, Júlia, é posta à solta nas ruas, vinda da prisão. Sem ter para onde ir, ela se junta aos quatro.
A meu ver foi aí que o filme desandou. Tornou-se não-linear, abusou de inexplicações e mistérios, e ainda inseriu certo conteúdo fantasioso. O resultado é um filme que perdeu a conexão com o público, não que a experiência tenha ficado ruim, mas a meu ver perdeu-se algo que tava indo muito bem.
Embora, claro, sem tais opções o filme poderia ser taxado de mais do mesmo, acho que, se fosse optar por tal abordagem mais implícita, ao menos o conteúdo segurasse a onda. Ainda bem que as interpretações estão fantásticas, e a diretora sabe muito bem conduzir seu filme, mantendo o interesse ainda assim.
Se a ideia do filme era realmente deixar perguntas, então foi bem sucedido. É um filme de camadas. Ao final, uma quinta pessoa aparece: seria essa pessoa a alusão ao quinto diabo? Não sabemos.
Também não sabemos exatamente o dom da filha, que vai além do olfato aguçado e seu potencial para explorar tempos e lugares. Para quem curte filmes de quebra-cabeça é um prato cheio. Ficou bem feito, e isso que importa, para além do gosto subjetivo de seu público.… Expand

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bertobellamy

Apr 1, 2023

Adèle Exarchopoulos once again leaves a fine impression, this time as a young mother disturbed by how the past has once again knocked on her door. The family drama is very well intertwined with a dash of magical realism that stands out thanks to an original supernatural element, which givesAdèle Exarchopoulos once again leaves a fine impression, this time as a young mother disturbed by how the past has once again knocked on her door. The family drama is very well intertwined with a dash of magical realism that stands out thanks to an original supernatural element, which gives a unique attribute to one of the characters. Unfortunately, the story runs out of steam in the second half; the character of Swala Emati, intimately connected with that of Exarchopoulos, lacks a convincing development, leaving only a few traces of her motivations. Similarly, another of the secondary characters (also connected to the protagonist) only wanders through the plot. Either way, Exarchopoulos' presence, some unexpected but impressive visual resources, and commitment to something new make this film a very worthy effort.… Expand

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