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‘Ari’ Review: An Intimate, Energizing Character Study of a Teacher With a Lot to Learn
French filmmaker Léonor Serraille brings the close insight and careening rhythm of her debut 'Jeune Femme' to a young male subject in 'Ari.'
Premiering in competition at Berlin, this unusual, deftly structured character study is light on plot in the conventional sense — but holds attention with staggered revelations that feel less like conveniently withheld narrative gambits than a person gradually taking stock of their past and present. The latter seems a cruel dig, though the further we delve into Ari’s past, the clearer it becomes that his breakup from Irene (Clémence Coullon) was a drastically life-determining event — its imprint visible in his mental health fluctuations, romantic explorations and career choices. Childhood pal Jonas (Théo Delezenne, in a brief, coruscating performance) has grown into a glib, reactionary finance bro, while their conversation reveals the class conflict always present in their friendship; the more bohemian Clara (Eva Lallier Juan) shocks him with her philosophical pivot toward embittered nihilism.
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