A glitter and shimmer in the night. It looks like stardust. But the camera soon reveals a couple wandering through the darkness. They try to protect themselves from the cold Paris night with an insulating film.
It is November 13, 2015. Both escaped the attack in the “Bataclan”. Spanish director Isaki Lacuesta based his film “Un año, una noche” (“Peace, Love and Death Metal”) on the terror of the night.
In the series of attacks, terrorists shot 130 people during a concert in the “Bataclan” and in bars and restaurants in the popular trendy district. There were 350 injured. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up at the Stade de France during an international football match between France and Germany.
The material is in several films. “You don’t get my hatred” based on a book by Antoine Leiris, whose partner Hélène was killed in “Bataclan”, is currently showing in cinemas.
In the Berlinale competition
For his film, Lacuesta was able to draw on the experiences and impressions of “Bataclan” survivor Ramón Gonzalez, who provided the basis for his report on the concert visit. “It was a very emotional shoot,” reports the director during the Berlinale in Berlin, where his film was in competition this year.
The story is told by Céline (Noémie Merlant) and Ramón (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart). The couple spends their young life together in the French capital. Love is easy and uncomplicated. It goes so far that he gives her tickets for a concert. Actually he doesn’t like the Eagles of Death Metal at all.
Lacuesta and the team shot on location in the “Bataclan”, which gives the film oppressive moments. The acoustic violence of the terror scenes does the rest. As accidentally as Céline and Ramón get caught in the attack, they survive the attack just as happily.
How to deal with the experience?
Both of them deal with the consequences very differently. Céline wants to go back to her old life, wants to forget the night of horror, represses and denies what she experienced herself. Ramón cannot free himself from the memories. He wants to face the terror. Or don’t get rid of it. The deep traces in their lives seem to divide the two lovers, the two levels are increasingly becoming a balancing act for the couple.
The film also features other disturbing angles. Colleagues are faced with the question of how they could help in such a situation. Her way: “We collected a little something so that you can buy something nice.”
Director Lacuesta seeks understanding for his protagonists, referring to their individual experiences: “You can’t share experiences.” Regaining a sense of normality and shedding the role of victim is not easy. Lacuesta also sees the victims in common: “They don’t want to survive, they want to live!”
Peace, Love and Death Metal, by Isaki Lacuesta, with Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez, Alba Guilera, and others, Spain/France 2021, 100 mins, FSK12
Information about the film Berlinale about the film
