THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – NOT TO BE MISSED
Maliciously programmed on the eve of the 2022 presidential election, The Campaign of France presents itself as a documentary chronicle of the municipal election of the town of Preuilly-sur-Claise (Indre-et-Loire), in 2020. It is, in a way, but, like its title equivocal, the film does not hesitate to beat the countryside. In truth, here is a documentary which does not allow itself to be easily circumscribed, changes direction along the way, weaves between genres, does not keep its political promises, does not care about documentary impartiality like the year forty, in the country of Descartes and Rabelais, strip the fable like others the daisy.
Sylvain Desclous, its director, knows the city well where his grandparents regularly welcomed him as a child and where he gladly returns. Armed with this knowledge, which is also an emotion, and after having shot a first documentary there in 2020, he seized the election ball and put his camera back on the scene of the electoral contest. To tell the truth, we lean for a kind of hidden satirical comedy, during the first moments of his film. the Cratylus – this book by Plato which questions the intrinsic relationship between proper names and the things they designate – seems to authorize us to do so: Preuilly-sur-Claise is, with all due respect to the toponymy of our beautiful country, with an absurd approach, not to say joking.
Squeaky Burlesque
And, in fact, everything here seems, at first glance, to take place under the sign of incompetence, amateurism, even scathing burlesque. The outgoing mayor to begin with, who, when asked about the projects and the value of the candidates for the judiciary, expresses a form of laconic doubt which says enough about the esteem he has for them. Then the regional journalist, who hesitates between mistake about the person and devastating courage (“Do you think you are the favourite? »). The said candidates finally. First, a terrific duo, made up of Mathieu and Guy. Mathieu is the candidate. Long hair, uncertain phrasing, shy clumsiness, son of a local photographer who has returned home, he introduces himself as “researcher entrepreneur around artificial intelligence”does not campaign under any political label, even if he confesses in aside “more “yellow vest” than macronist”. At his side, number two on the list, driving a big-engine Mercedes coupé, Guy, an old veteran of local politics, a charming boaster, who bluntly declares himself a socialist, only controlling his speech and his nerves on rare occasions. circumstances.
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