Sans rancune (2009)
Directed by Yves Hanchar

Film Review

The first thing to say about Sans rancune is: don't believe everything you read in the newspapers.  Like a pack of starving wolves descending on a stray lamb with a broken leg, a significant section of the French press had a field day ripping this film to pieces when it was released in the summer of 2009.  This feeding frenzy was apparently sustained by the obvious similarity with Les Choristes (2004) another film set in a boys' boarding school just after the war.  Sans rancune is unlikely to win many awards for originality but it is a well-constructed, well-acted piece of drama which tells a story of immense charm and poignancy.  How such a film could be so reviled is a mystery.

In some ways, Sans rancune is actually superior to Les Choristes.  The story is far more focused, centred on the main character's search for his own identity and that of the teacher who inspires him, and consequently has greater emotional impact.  It also lacks the nauseating hint of mawkishness that afflicts Les Choristes.  Sans rancune has its faults - a few scenes are overly melodramatic, one or two others could have been staged and shot more imaginatively - but the sheer warmth and sincerity of the film make it easy to overlook its shortcomings.

What makes this film so appealing is that it deals, in a straightforward, unpretentious manner, with themes that we can all relate to - the importance of identity, the need to know who we are, where we are going and where we came from.  The central character is an aspiring young writer whose obsession with finding his long-lost father mirrors the quest for his own identity.  Everything seems to be conspiring to thwart young Laurent, but when he falls under the spell of an uncompromising yet brilliant teacher he realises he is on the right path.  It is through his profound love of the literary form that he discovers who he is, enabling him to take his stand and fulfil his potential as a latter-day Raymond Radiguet.

Sans rancune was written and directed by Yves Hanchar, a relatively little known Belgian filmmaker who so far has only two full length films to his name, the utterly weird fantasy piece La Partie d'échecs (1994) and the more mundane En vacances (2000).   It is probably fair to say, judging by the narrative and stylistic diversity of his three films to date, that Hanchar has yet to find his voice.  Yet, in spite of this, his films are unquestionably appealing and distinctive works of cinema which, in the fullness of time, will probably be appreciated far more than when they were on their initial release.

Another name to watch out for is Milan Mauger, the photogenic 22-year-old French actor who plays the principal role in this film.  Prior to this, Mauger cut his acting teeth on the stage and playing lesser parts in a modest handful of films and TV movies.  In his first substantial screen role, this striking newcomer enriches the film with his talent and leaves us in no doubt that he will be a much sought after actor in French cinema in future years.

Milan Mauger's co-star, Thierry Lhermitte, needs absolutely no introduction but it is worth saying a few words about this well-known escapee from the comic troupe L'équipe du Splendide (coincidentally, another member of the same comedy team, Gérard Jugnot starred in Les Choristes...)   Once praised for his comedic turns in such films as Le Père Noël est une ordure (1982) and Le Dîner de cons (1998), Lhermitte has been on the receiving end of quite a bit of bad press over the past decade or two, almost routinely vilified for his less than brilliant contributions to third rate comedies.  Sans rancune shows us a completely different Thierry Lhermitte, a serious and likeable actor who can play a real character with sensitivity and authenticity.  Lhermitte's portrayal of an inspirational teacher reminds us of Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society (1989), eccentric yet moving, a humorous exterior only just managing to mask a troubled and highly complex inner self.

Just why the critics had to rip this delightful little film to pieces is incomprehensible to me.  Such a reaction seems to echo one of the key passages in the film, where the unfortunate budding author Laurent is taken to task for apparently borrowing phrases from the great literary masters.  Like Laurent's persecutor, a heartless stand-in teacher who clearly knows nothing about his subject, the critics have obviously missed the point.  In their haste to condemn, presumably sans rancune, they have written off a little gem of a film.

Film Synopsis

Whilst attending a Belgian boarding school in the 1950s, 17-year-old Laurent Matagne suspects that his French teacher, Vapeur, might be his father, who is thought to have died in an air raid in 1940.  Vapeur is an eccentric but brilliant teacher who inspires Laurent to pursue a career as a writer.  With the help of his friend Boulette, Laurent begins his investigation into Vapeur's mysterious past in an attempt to uncover his true identity...