The Cinematheque

One of the Top Ten Films of 2013

Cahiers du cinéma

A high-intensity crossover between documentary and fiction techniques, Justine Triet’s debut narrative is set, and was mostly shot, on May 6, 2012, the final day of voting in the French presidential election. Laetitia (Laetitia Dosch) is a TV news reporter and single mother, having separated from her volatile ex, Vincent (Vincent Macaigne). On this, the longest workday of the year for Laetitia, Vincent attempts to enforce a visitation day with their two children, instigating a spiral of phone calls, rendezvous points, and legal arguments. The furthest thing imaginable from a safe first foray, Triet’s film flexes her documentary-honed skills, embedding actors in throngs of street-spilling crowds, then locking them inside an explosive domestic chamber drama. Age of Panic sees a filmmaker captivated by what the camera can reveal, laying out in clear terms the often-obscured connections between public, private, political, and familial identities.

In French with English subtitles

“Carefully calibrated chutzpah … Age of Panic stands as one of the exemplary works of modern French cinema, a landmark of what a daringly original filmmaker can do when working in a system of her own.”

Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“Must-see … Triet starts by cutting between interior apartment child-care chaos and exterior political clashes [then] merges the two strands in a successfully executed Medium Cool-esque second act gambit.”

Vadim Rizov, Filmmaker Magazine