Movie Review: Le Grand BainGoldie Eder, LICSW, BCD
“A square peg never fits into a round hole” caps the prologue and sets the theme for this French film from 2018 (directed by Gilles Lellouch) about a group of French men deep in the weeds of middle age, coming to terms with themselves and their lives as they form a men’s synchronized swimming team. Unemployed Bertrand (the ever-incisive actor Matthew Amalric ) and factory boss Laurent (the equally talented Guillaume Canet), along with the aging Simon the 80’s rocker (the endearing Jean-Hughes Anglade) and the hilarious, always on the edge of bankruptcy businessman/hustler Marcus (Benoit Poelvoorde) and others star along with Virginie Elfira and Leila Bekhti as the swim coaches to bring us into the mens’ experiences of depression and alienation. But unlike most of the French or other films I program for this series, this is a dramedy with a lot of comedy, endearing us to these forlorn but not finished, funny but not without dignity, regular guys-- bonding, forming a group where they let down their hair in the sauna after practice (usually with cannabis) and then make their way to the local bar before returning to their families for the evening to toss and turn in their sleep and do it all over again the next day. They deal with judgmental relatives, lost love, dreams, homes and youth (and self-esteem), nostalgia, sagging bodies, jobs beneath their abilities, and wondering about their utility in a world where it’s hard to find satisfaction and purpose (well, maybe I’m reading this purpose thing into it, but at least some degree of motivation to “grow”). And lest you think the female coaches have it made, there is Delphine, their coach who goes from daring them to “grow a pair” to reading them poetry by Rilke and who falls off the wagon when her ex-boyfriend shows up to humiliate her in front of the guys; and Amanda, Delphine’s former swimming partner revving up her wheelchair and caning stick when she needs to step in for Delphine because the team has entered an international mens’ synchronized swimming competition and she’ll be damned if she’s going to let them come in anything but first place. Money for swim costumes for the competition? No problem for Marcus, who launches a heist scheme in a sporting goods store to procure said costumes (of course you can guess the outcome). But communication issues abound for Laurent whose dementing mother castigates him in her paranoia and whose stuttering son is deeply troubled by the conflict between his warring parents. And there is Thierry (Philippe Katerine) who seems to be luckless in love, and Vankish (Balasingham Thamilchelvan), a Sri Lankan immigrant who, though he never speaks French, communicates his opinions and yearning, and support for his comrades. Although some of the humor may have that French satirical tendency toward stereotyping, I thought it served to contrast how the men felt judged by the outside world and their inner emotional experience of feeling cast aside by that world and developing the resilience they needed to cope with the resulting feelings through their connections with each other and their coaches. These safe connections within the team served to help them reconnect in more authentic ways with others significant in their lives, through increasing their self-compassion along the way. |
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