Heal the Living

classified 12A S
Film

Please note: This was screened in May 2017

Director
Katell Quillévéré
Cast
Tahar Rahim, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Dorval
Details
103 mins, Subtitled, 2016, France | Belgium

The story of one heart that touches many lives - this is the extraordinary third feature from writer-director Katell Quillévéré (Love Like Poison, Suzanne) - a gripping, complex and moving ensemble drama about lives connected by organ transplant.

When a teenage surfer (Gabin Verdet) is killed in a car accident, his grieving parents (Emmanuelle Seigner and Kool Shen) have to make the hideously difficult decision to donate his healthy organs to those in need. The film has two halves: firstly focusing on the family’s emotional shock and ethical dilemmas before introducing us to the woman (Anne Dorval) who is set to receive the heart in question, waiting to see whether she will be given a new chance of life.

Adapted from Maylis de Kerangal’s acclaimed novel, this powerfully humane film (complete with graphic scenes) reflects the way a compassionate health system works and shows how our flesh-and-blood make-up ultimately connects us all. A terrific cast contribute to a film that addresses the heart and the brain with equal intelligence, unerring elegance, and lightness of touch.


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