Je verrai toujours vos visages

Jeanne Herry’s commitment to theatricality makes for a production setting upright the triumph of dialogue, where speech is action, and gives story its full depth. At stake in the very adroitly narrated script are interviews, sensibly staged by way of wise acting, curious of fragility, sensitivity and virility, and delivered with a commendable unguarded execution. Two protagonists will never meet but are each engaged in a strenuous process of restorative justice, where victims of crimes agree to join a discussion group alongside convicted offenders. A film about repair and the importance of relationship, where unusual direct encounters bring about potentials for mending, and where every attempt is a leap. In France, restorative justice is free and complementary to criminal justice since 2014. Herry’s handling of revealing plurality places the collective centre stage, actually, because belief in the individual is not barren. A fascinating subject all the more significant as it reflects something of the times.