Plot
Alexander, a boy who has been raised in a sequestered commune, finds that his increasing unwillingness to fall in line puts him on a collision course with Gregori, the society's charismatic and domineering leader.
Release Year: 2015
Rating: 6.8/10 (288 voted)
Critic's Score: 60/100
Director: Ariel Kleiman
Stars: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara
Storyline
Alexander, a boy who has been raised in a sequestered commune, finds that his increasing unwillingness to fall in line puts him on a collision course with Gregori, the society's charismatic and domineering leader.
Writers: Sarah Cyngler, Ariel Kleiman
Cast: Vincent Cassel -
Gregori
Nigel Barber -
Karaoke Detective
Jeremy Chabriel -
Alexander
Florence Mezzara -
Susanna
Sosina Wogayehu -
Penelope
Timothy Styles -
Gary - 'The Hardest Thing To Do'
Natalia Gorbacheva -
Sylvia
Sapidah Kian -
Maria
Anastasia Prystay -
Ariana
Alexander Dahlberg -
Nicholas
Zsofia Stavropoulos -
Bella
Wietse Cocu -
Felix
Oscar Dahlberg -
Oscar
Katalin Hegedus -
Magdalena
Kidus Melaku -
Robert
Country: Australia
Language: English
Release Date: 2 October 2015
Filming Locations: Morning Star Estate, Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 9/10
Partisan tells the story of a brilliant, highly determined man with a
damaged past, Gregori (Vincent Cassel) who constructs a commune,
assimilates a group of troubled women and trains and army of child
soldiers. It is set in a protected compound, shielded from perceived
evil of the people outside of the walls. The setting is a surreal
fortress - part labyrinth, part garden of Eden.
The story is told through the eyes of a brave, clever boy, Alexander,
the son and product of Gregori. As a result of the boy's perspective,
very little is told about the outside world - we learn only bits and
pieces as Alexander is sent out on brutal but brief assassination
missions.
Gregori plays Father and God to the children of the commune, mentoring
Alexander and the other children in various survival skills such as
shooting and navigation. When the audience asked for more back story
about the outside world, Ariel (director) said "we wanted to only show
the world as seen through Alex's eyes, beyond that we didn't care."
The film sets up with a hopeful Utopian society but turns quickly Noir
as several twisted, internal conflicts develop and Alex starts to
challenge his father's utilitarian command. The story-telling,
cinematography and dialogue are chilling. Throughout the film many of
the shots are as long as 25 seconds with no cuts.
Fun fact - I spoke with Germaine after the film who told me in the
first 2 days of filming he broke his ankle in an unfortunate camera
dolly accident and had to endure rest of film in a cast.
In post premiere Q&A Ariel said that the story was inspired by real
child soldiers of Colombia.
Prepare yourself for a visceral, emotional journey. Partisan is not
just entertainment, it is profound art. I had the honor of seeing this
film at the world premiere in the Library Theater at Sundance 2015 and
meeting the cast and crew. It was my favorite of the festival.
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