un ange (w&d koen mortier)

Un Ange tells the story of a Belgian cyclist who travels to Senegal to hook up with his brother and party. There he meets Fae, a woman who isn’t officially a prostitute, but unofficially appears to be. This moot definition arises as a result of the carnet de salud  which official prostitutes are required to have. Thierry meets Fae in a  bar and appears to fall head over heels in love with her. They spend a crazy night together, where he proposes to her. This unlikely love affair is thrown off course when Thierry isn’t allowed to bring Fae into his hotel, as she doesn’t have the carnet de salud. He takes some drugs which freak him out, they go to another cheap hotel, he becomes paranoid and delusional and then he dies. 

The first hour or so of An Ange is brilliant. All the elements of film, sound, camera, lighting, edit are used to the max. Nicolas Karakatsanis’ camerawork is mesmerising. The set-up itself is fascinating, with Senegal providing the perfect setting for these artists to go to work. The film generates tension and empathy with both Fae and Thierry. However, as the brief resume of the narrative perhaps suggests, the trouble is that the narrative doesn’t hold up. The final half hour feels undercooked, as though this is a short which has been stretched out for all its worth. At the heart of this narrative problem, perhaps, is the issue of what them film is about. It opens with a voiceover from Fae talking about prostitution. The scenes in Senegal perfectly capture the uneasy first world/ third world sexual tourism issue. However, this issue feels as tough it’s ditched or ducked at the end, as the pivot of the film becomes Thierry’s drug addiction. A cutaway to his funeral in Belgium feels awkward. The fact that Thierry has become an addict as a result of his doping feels like a curveball the film doesn’t need and doesn’t entirely warrant (there’s even a reference to Armstrong in there). 

This is a shame, as so much of Un Ange is so well done. For a long time it feels as though we’re in the hands of a director of great skill. The edit, which includes flashbacks and one great dream sequence, is terrific. The film drives forwards in a flare of colour and dynamic camerawork and committed acting. Then, in the final straight, it runs out of gas.