“REVOIR PARIS” an Explosive Drama on DVD

RIVOIR PARIS all photos courtesy of Music Box Films

One of the better foreign films being released on home video, Revoir Paris tells a story of being caught up in a devastating situation both psychological and physical. The film captures a moral and captivating look at being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The acting here carries the difficult plot well and turns fiction into “reality”.

Mia (Virginie Efira) and her fiancé Vincent (Grégoire Colin), a doctor, live in an apartment in Paris France. She is a Russian translator at Radio France and manages from a radio booth feeding the radio news announcer’s interviewee. Mia has to be familiar with the information being passed on to the anchors and it’s difficult at times. She rides her motorcycle to work every day and meets Vincent occasionally after work.

A scene from RIVOIR PARIS all photos courtesy of Music Box Films

After her shift and during a rendezvous with Vincent at a bar, he gets called back to the hospital. It has started to rain and she rides towards home on her cycle. Not wanting to be alone in her apartment, she stops off at a bistro. There she is guided to the overflow-room where the people are having a good time enjoying the music and conversations. On the way back from a trip to the restroom gunfire erupts from the main room and they all take cover throughout the bistro. Thus begins a night of terror.

The intricate plot has to be pulled off just right for the audience to make the rest of the film work. Director and co-writer Alice Winocour does a terrific job of putting the story together and making the visuals very scary and yet so realistic it puts the fear into her viewers. It’s more than just relaying the headlines of the many shootings around the world, because she makes it feel that you are there among the falling bodies.

A scene from RIVOIR PARIS all photos courtesy of Music Box Films

Delivering a very realistic performance as Mia, Virginie Efira puts her character through the paces that include meeting with the survivors as she tries to recover from the awful event. Not able to come to grips with that horrible night Mia must find a way to pull herself together. And Efira turns what could have been an impossible challenge, into a triumph. She makes the film work and leaves a part of her character in each of Alice Winocour’s viewers.

Bonus Features:
“Interviews” actors Virginie Efira, Benoit Magimel and Director Alice Winocour
“Filmmaker Question and Answer session”

Revoir Paris has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, sex and language. The DVD has very good subtitles that are easy to read. For those that like foreign language films it’s your cup of tea.

Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Virginie Efira, Benoit Magimel, Grégoire Colin, Maya Sansa, Amadou Mbow, Nastya Golubeva Carax, Anne-Lise Heimburger, Sofia Lesaffre, Clarisse Makundul
Directed and co-written by: Alice Winocour
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1 hr. 44 min.
Video Release Date:
Original Theatrical Release Date: June 23, 2023 in France
Language: French
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Video: Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Distributed by: Music Box Films
Released on: Digital, DVD

Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com