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SFF 2015: Vincent Review

A scene from Thomas Salvador's VINCENT, playing at the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 23 - May 7 2015.

Director: Thomas Salvador.

Cast: Thomas Salvador, Vimala Pons, Youssef Hajdi.

Certificate: N/A

Running Time: 71 minutes

Synopsis: Vincent (Salvador) has super powers, but only when he is wet.

Recently it’s been the more heroes the merrier with the likes of Avengers: Age Of Ultron and the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice. So it would be nice to remind us of what a single hero could do. In fact let’s strip it back even further with just an ordinary guy with extraordinary powers. Let’s make it even more personable by making it a lovely quiet French film set mostly in a rural area. Although it may not boast incredible explosions and pithy one-liners, we instead get a little bit of beauty reminding us of the joys of simplicity.

Vincent’s eponymous hero, played by writer and director Salvador, is just a quiet guy who is looking for his place in the world. We get a dreaded sense from the outset that he is stuck in a cycle, much like the 70s David Banner, of having to continuously move from place to place. Vincent has superpowers, but they only work when he is wet. When wet he is almost unstoppable, with Superman levels of strength, but otherwise he is simply a regular guy. It’s a lovely, and thankfully unexplained, twist that sees Vincent as both incredibly powerful and also very vulnerable.

Early sequences show Vincent enjoying swimming in nearby lakes, leaping through the water like a dolphin at points. The effects are phenomenal throughout such sequences and are absolutely flawless. They are so good in fact, that it is impossible to tell if any CG was incorporated, and if it was practical, how on earth they did it. Whether it’s his super speed, super swimming, or super strength, you are always completely in the realm of the film. It’s great to see such a quiet little French film inspiring more magic and wonder than loud and bombastic Hollywood fare.

There are no supervillains here though, so Vincent has to struggle with life itself. Having taken on a job as a builder, he sees an opportunity to use his strength when taking down a wall. It’s a happily cheeky moment, but as one might predict he soon needs to use his powers to protect a friend which reveals his secret and leads to an epic police chase. It’s a lengthy one that works as we are constantly in suspense as Vincent searches for more water. As he dries, his powers become weak, and we find our hero hoping for rain or a convenient bucket.

Vincent may end up being the best superhero film of the year. It has heart in the form of a lovely plotted romance that takes centre stage rather than being forcibly inserted, and has wonderment that contrasts with its very real world setting. The performances and pacing is brilliant and nothing outstays its welcome. For anyone who believes Marvel is getting a little bit too crowded, here’s a hero that’s given time and imagination. Small, independent, but incredibly memorable.

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Luke likes many things, films and penguins being among them. He's loved films since the age of 9, when STARGATE and BATMAN FOREVER changed the landscape of modern cinema as we know it. His love of film extends to all aspects of his life, with trips abroad being planned around film locations and only buying products featured in Will Smith movies. His favourite films include SEVEN SAMURAI, PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, IN BRUGES, LONE STAR, GODZILLA, and a thousand others.

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