Mysius’ film is superbly constructed, beautifully filmed and edited, with a great score and some phenomenal acting. All of which makes one wonder why one comes away from the film feeling slightly underwhelmed, no matter how enjoyable it might be. Vicky, played by Sally Dramé is a nine year old girl whose parents are going through a difficult patch and who happens to have psychic powers. Which is something she has in common with Julia, her aunt, who appears mysteriously in her life after a long unexplained absence. Julia and her dad, Jimmy are second generation, their parents coming from Senegal (where Jimmy was born, but not Julia). This perhaps ties Vicky & Julia’s psychic powers into some kind of African witchcraft trope, and indeed, Vicky is partial to creating concoctions which include ingredients such as dead crow. Sally Dramé is one of the best child actresses you will ever meet and more or less steals the show, as she gradually gets to the heart of the menage á trois which is her family origin story. As such, the film, in spite of its stranger elements (such as her mother, Joanne’s penchant for swimming in life-threateningly cold lakes, and a rhythmic gymnastic strand), is a fairly classical French relationship narrative, with antecedents such as Huis Clos or Dangerous Liaisons. Personally I was reminded of a film I remember loving called L’Apartement (Mimouni), which felt when I saw it like the apotheosis of French cool, and it might be that Le Cinque Diables will have a similar effect on a younger generation, rather than one of my jaundiced era. It’s a really well made film, but one has the sense of something stranger, less organised, trying to break out, which never quite manages to rupture the lake’s impervious but static beauty.
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