Film Review: Pensive Drama ‘Burning Ghost’ Ponders On The Immortality of Love After Death4 min read
Reading Time: 3 minutesIn the streets of Paris, Juste collects the last memory of people only he can see, before helping them into the afterlife. Juste is a ghost. But one day Agathe recognises him. She knew him when he was alive.
Director: Stéphane Batut
Cast: Thimotée Robart, Judith Chemla, Djolof Mbengue, Saadia Bentaïeb, Jacques Nolot
Year: 2019
Country: France
Language: French
Runtime: 104 minutes
Film Trailer:
A quote often attributed to Ernest Hemingway describes every man as having two deaths — “when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name”. It’s this idea of life after death as memory that deeply informs French arthouse film Burning Ghost.
The 2019 winner of the prestigious Prix Jean Vigo is a visual powerhouse. However, audiences may find it difficult to be whisked away together with the film’s dreamlike flow due to a staggering pace and vague storytelling. Still, how the film’s magnetic leads passionately diffuse their chemistry on screen may make Burning Ghost a prime film to catch this Valentine’s Day.
Juste (Thimotée Robart) awakes in the middle of a park with no memory of his recent past. An embodiment of death dressed in a cold lab coat (Saadia Bentaïeb) breaks the news that he is dead. Most are unable to see Juste. Exceptions include Alpha (Djolof Mbengue), an elderly gentleman who provides him with a job at his tailoring shop, and his wife. The film follows Juste as he ferries the dead to the afterlife and how a chance meeting with Agathe (Judith Chemla), a lover from his time alive, unearths the reason for his midway existence.
Burning Ghost does well in being engrossing early on; it’s not a wildly original concept but what drew me in is the film’s deft focus on aesthetics, cinematography and lighting to mirror the ongoing character drama. Unfortunately, as the film progressed, the visuals — as gorgeous as they are — are soon pushed to the background by more pressing issues.
As the initial meeting with death and the film’s main events are years apart, the audience isn’t keyed in with the rules of its world as much as Juste is. The onus falls on the audience to catch up — despite the film seemingly doing its best to remain shrouded in obscurity. The rules don’t necessarily change as much as multiple caveats are continuously stacked. Frustration only adds up with clear efforts highlighting minorities leading nowhere and less-than-desirable special effects. A deadly concoction of a lumbering pace and a difficult-to-digest concept is especially present in the film’s first hour.
However, be patient with the film and high points can be found. Despite the disadvantage of being a second chance at love without being able to showcase the fires of their first encounter, the passion and chemistry shared between its two leads are more than equipped to fill this gap. Solid performances grace the film’s pastel-tinged world with sparks of emotional depth found in every close-up.
The film’s last third ploughs through the greatest hits that may be expected out of a story surrounding death. Particularly enjoyable is whenever Burning Ghost deals with the topic with a poignant air of naturalism and a focus on life after death in the memory of loved ones.
The other, far more rosy end of the spectrum is brought forward and executed well by the film’s conclusion too. Although the hurried whispers about memory and living on in dreams are so sentimental that it would make Phil Oakley blush, the film somehow sticks the landing with masterful use of music and erupting emotions from the leads.
Burning Ghost is not an easy recommendation. It is unfortunate that the film’s excellent cinematography and engaging romance is drowned out by a slow start. More could be said by the film about its exciting premise but it still manages to deliver a comforting message about triumphing over the fear of death — brought forward in such an extraordinarily pillowy manner that makes Burning Ghost difficult to fault by the end credits.
Burning Ghost joins the lineup of this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival, the world’s first online French-language film festival. Six titles, including this film, will be streaming on the festival’s exclusive Singapore partner, video on demand platform The Projector Plus. All films are priced at $8, with an option to rent three films at a special price of $18. Check them out here.
