This Friday, October 9, 2020, on Arte, at 9:05 p.m., "Claire Andrieux" was broadcast, a TV movie directed by Olivier Jahan, now available in replay, and relating the trauma of rape and incest. A first on television!
The TV movie, broadcast this Friday, October 9 at 9:05 p.m. on Arte and available in replay, begins in a rather singular manner. While the female character is expected to speak, it is the one who will end up being her lover who speaks in voiceover. Bruno, film director, played by Thomas VDB, meets Claire Andrieux, during the work. A real estate agent, she helps her find the perfect home for a film project. Bruno describes Claire Andrieux as everyone, with her tics of language, her enthusiasm, her dedication. According to him, she "is one of those people who has built a shell and refuses to collapse, even in a storm." Behind this bubble that she made for herself during her life, Claire hides a heavy secret since childhood.
Rebuild after trauma
Her meeting with Bruno will turn out to be an upheaval. He faces his demons and isn't afraid to talk about them, which Claire is not. However, as the film progresses, it reveals itself. We come to understand that she has lived the unimaginable. One evening, while having dinner with two friends, she explains that she was abused by her uncle when she was little. The announcement is extremely violent. Claire has never told anyone about it before. It was a secret between her and her only.
TV movie Claire Andrieux evokes the trauma of rape, incest and the way it marks a life forever. But, above all, he evokes this omerta inflicted on himself by the victims. How to face the irreparable? How to rebuild? How to live with it? Rare are the times when television has treated such a subject with so much transparency.
A TV movie that does not indulge in pathos
Claire Andrieux is a character who already appeared in the film The sand castles, by Olivier Jahan. The director wanted to give depth to this secondary female character. And it is a success! No need to have seen the previous film to appreciate Claire Andrieux. Full of fantasy, the character is unpredictable, blundering and incredibly touching. He has everything to make this film a comedy despite its heavy subject. Claire Andrieux is aptly named, because if she makes us laugh and she upsets us too. We discover his capacity for resilience with great emotion. Then, we understand that, ultimately, everyone needs to be heard and to put their sentences into words despite everything.
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