Gare du Nord (2013)
Directed by Claire Simon

Film Review

Claire Simon's follow-up to Les Bureaux de Dieu (2008) offers a similar unconventional blend of documentary and fictional drama, this time set within the throbbing environs of the Gare du Nord in Paris.  On the fictional side, Simon throws in a handful of disparate characters for whom the station becomes more than just a transit point - hard-up student Ismaël, health-conscious university professor Mathilde, busy estate agent Joan and a man looking for his missing daughter, Sacha.  These are not just players in their own personal dramas, they also become involved in their surroundings and it is through their eyes that we see the real life of Europe's busiest railway station, not just the people who pass through in their hundreds of thousands each day, but also those who make their living on the crowded concourse.

Gare du Nord is an innovative and exuberant piece of filmmaking but it is not without its faults.  If Simon's objective was to capture the essence of the location as authentically as possible you wonder why she didn't just opt for the pure documentary approach, merely filming what is there rather than going for a less satisfying half-way-house which is neither fiction nor documentary.  The stilted dialogue and awkwardly self-conscious performances from the non-professional cast members soon become irksome, and these, together with the inclusion of some fanciful (and fantastic) interludes, rob the film of the sur-le-vif authenticity that its author is presumably striving for.

The film's increasingly unfocused second half fails to live up to the promise of the first half and drags somewhat as the fiction and documentary fail to gel into a satisfactory whole.  On the plus side, there's a vertiginous spontaneity to the chalk-and-cheese encounter between Nicole Garcia and Reda Kateb (neither actor has given a more true-to-life performance) and their scenes - humane and funny in equal measure - add substance to what is on the whole a fairly insubstantial film.  The star of the film ends up being the station itself, which, far from being a static backdrop, becomes a living entity, the pulsating heart of Europe's transport system.

Film Synopsis

The Gare du Nord in Paris is a place where anything can happen.  Every day, Ismaël, a student, is fascinated by this constantly busy station.  It is here that he sees Mathilde, a history professor several years his senior, for the first time.  Gradually, they fall in love.  They then meet up with Sacha and Joan.  Sacha is looking for his missing daughter; Joan feels she spends most of her life in this station as she shuttles back and forth between Lille, London and Paris.  The Gare du Nord is a strange, almost mystical place, that is traversed by all manner of people - commuters, immigrants, holidaymakers, even ghosts...