Both Sides of the Blade
Theatrical release poster
FrenchAvec amour et acharnement
LiterallyWith Love and Fury
Directed byClaire Denis
Screenplay by
Based onUn tournant de la vie
by Christine Angot
Produced byOlivier Delbosc
Starring
CinematographyEric Gautier
Edited by
  • Sandie Bompar
  • Guy Lecorne
  • Emmanuelle Pencalet
Music byTindersticks
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 12 February 2022 (2022-02-12) (Berlinale)
  • 31 August 2022 (2022-08-31) (France)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office$1.8 million[2]

Both Sides of the Blade (formerly known in English as Fire; French: Avec amour et acharnement, lit. 'With Love and Fury')[3] is a 2022 French romantic drama film directed by Claire Denis, who wrote the screenplay with Christine Angot. The film is based on Angot's 2018 novel Un tournant de la vie.[4] The film stars Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon, and Grégoire Colin. The film had its world premiere on 12 February 2022 at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear,[5] while Denis received the Silver Bear for Best Director.[6]

Plot

Sara and her husband Jean swim in the sea while on vacation, kissing and caressing one another. They return home to a wintry Paris, where Sara works as a radio presenter. Jean, a former professional rugby player with a prison record, is an absent father to his mixed-race teenage son Marcus, who lives in the custody of Jean's mother Nelly in the banlieue of Vitry. One day, Sara glimpses her estranged ex-boyfriend François on the street, flooding her with emotion. François, who was also once a close friend to Jean, is opening a sports agency to recruit young rugby players and contacts Jean to work with him as a talent scout. The re-entrance of François into their lives threatens the relationship Sara and Jean have had for ten years.

Cast

Production

In early January 2021, Wild Bunch International announced the release of several French films despite the strict restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those movies would be Fire, a dramatic movie directed by Denis.[7][8][9] That same month, it was announced that filming was about to wrap in Paris, and that Mati Diop, Bulle Ogier and Issa Perica were part of the cast, with Ad Vitam Distribution set to distribute in France.[10] Part of the film was shot at Maison de la Radio, the headquarters of Radio France. Production wrapped in early February 2021.[11]

The film was developed within the context and restrictions of the COVID-19 lockdowns in France, which Denis credits with bringing her and the cast closer together. However, they became "exhausted, relentless" with their work.[12] The pandemic also exists as a reality in the film. Shooting a scene in the Paris Métro, Denis found it "impossible to pretend the pandemic didn't exist." The characters also wear face masks in some sequences taking place outside their apartment.[13]

The film marks the acting debut of Hana Magimel, the daughter of Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel.[14] French footballer Lilian Thuram appears as himself.[15]

Release

Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon at Berlinale 2022

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section of the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival,[16] where the film had its world premiere on 12 February 2022.[1] Claire Denis won the Silver Bear for Best Director.[17] IFC Films acquired the US distribution rights to the film in early February 2022,[18] for a limited release on 8 July 2022.[19][20][21][2] It was released in France by Ad Vitam Distribution on 31 August 2022.[22] It was released for streaming on AMC Plus on 4 November 2022,[23] and was released on VOD by IFC Video on 15 November 2022.[21]

Title

The title Both Sides of the Blade is derived from the song of the same name by Tindersticks, which was written by Stuart A. Staples for the film and is featured at its conclusion.[24] When she received the song during the film's editing, Denis was impressed by the "quality" of the title and deemed the French title Avec amour et acharnement too difficult to translate.[25] Denis described Both Sides of the Blade as the "real title" of the film because it "describes the movie" perfectly.[12] The film was originally being marketed in English under the title Fire.[12] Paste said there was "palpable contention" regarding the film's title. On 3 March 2022, during her introduction at the film's U.S. premiere at Lincoln Center's annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series, Denis herself decried, "The film is not called Fire!"[26] Denis told an interviewer at the event, "I tried today to speak with the distribution company because I think 'Fire' is not completely fitting for the film. 'Both Sides of the Blade,' it’s sharp. There's passion, but it could be divided in a painful way. It's cutting!"[27] In April 2022, IFC Films officially changed its distribution title to Both Sides of the Blade.[28]

Reception

Box office

Both Sides of the Blade grossed $1 million in France, $201,047 in the United States and Canada, and $540,823 in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.8 million.[2]

In France, the film opened alongside Everything Everywhere All at Once, La Dégustation, La Page blanche and The Five Devils. The film sold 15,072 admissions on its first day,[29] 2,924 of which were preview screenings.[30] It went on to sell 60,282 admissions in its opening weekend, finishing 8th at the box office.[31] At the end of its theatrical run, the film sold a total of 157,270 admissions.[30]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Elevated by impeccable work from Claire Denis and Juliette Binoche, Both Sides of the Blade is a relationship drama that cuts deep."[20] According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 27 critics, the film received "generally favorable reviews".[32]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, writing, "It's intriguing if contrived and anticlimactic, though acted at the highest pitch of sensual conviction."[33] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film's "psychologically astute" screenplay, Gautier's "probing" cinematography and Denis' "laser-focused" direction for laying bare the characters' emotions "with fluid modulation of tone". Rooney also praised the film's "rigorous rejection of sentimentality" and its sex scenes for "involving middle-aged bodies captured with such unselfconscious naturalness and grace."[34] Guy Lodge of The Guardian praised the "unusually elegant geometry" of the film's love triangle as well as Denis' "rich, nuanced exploration of female desire from the fault lines of an ostensibly simple narrative", and complimented Binoche and Lindon on the emotional range of their performances.[4] Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film four stars out of five, writing, "Binoche, typically, is on commanding form, working once more with a film-maker who seems intuitively aware of how to harness her every glance or grimace."[35]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Both Sides of the Blade
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 20 February 2022 Golden Bear Claire Denis Nominated [36]
Silver Bear for Best Director Nominated [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Avec amour et acharnement | Both Sides of the Blade". www.berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Both Sides of the Blade (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (18 January 2022). "Juliette Binoche on Acting and 'Feeling Worthless' After Being Asked Not to Take Producer Role". Variety. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 Lodge, Guy (12 February 2022). "'Fire' Review: Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon Excel in Claire Denis' Sexy, Emotionally Volatile Relationship Drama". Variety. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. ↑ Grater, Tom (19 January 2022). "Berlin Film Festival Line-Up: Hong Sang-soo, Claire Denis & Ulrich Seidl In Competition; Sidebars Feature Peter Strickland, Andrew Dominik & Dario Argento". Deadline. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Catalan family drama 'Alcarràs' wins Berlin's Golden Bear". Associated Press. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Melanie Goodfellow (8 January 2021). "Wild Bunch International unveils 2021 French slate (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Charles Barfield (8 January 2021). "'Fire': Clarie Denis' New Film Starring Juliette Binoche Shooting For Cannes Debut, 'Stars At Noon' May Shoot In April". The Playlist. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Juliette Binoche unveils a photo with her daughter Hannah Magimel… who is taking her first steps in cinema". www.inspiredtraveler.ca. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (28 January 2021). "Filming to wrap imminently on Claire Denis' Fire". CineEuropa. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  11. ↑ Grater, Tom (3 February 2021). "Claire Denis Wraps Juliette Binoche-Vincent Lindon Romance 'Fire'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Grater, Tom (12 February 2022). "Claire Denis Says 'Fire' Co-Stars Juliette Binoche & Vincent Lindon Were "Like Fighters" During Intimate Lockdown Shoot – Berlin". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  13. ↑ Marc-André, Lussier (13 February 2022). "72e Berlinale | Femmes à la conquête d'elles-mêmes". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (28 January 2021). "Filming to wrap imminently on Claire Denis' Both Sides of the Blade". Cineuropa. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  15. ↑ Brody, Richard (6 July 2022). ""Both Sides of the Blade," Reviewed: Claire Denis's Politics of Privacy". The New Yorker. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (19 January 2022). "Berlin Selection Unveiled: Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, Rithy Panh, Dario Argento Head to Festival". Variety. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Grater, Tom (16 February 2022). "Berlin Film Festival Awards: 'Alcarràs' Wins Golden Bear, Claire Denis Named Best Director". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  18. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (3 February 2022). "IFC Films acquires Claire Denis Berlin Competition entry 'Fire'". Screen International. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  19. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (25 February 2022). "IFC Films Sets U.S. Release Date For Claire Denis' Berlin Winner 'Fire' Starring Juliette Binoche". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Both Sides of the Blade". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  21. 1 2 "Avec amour et acharnement (2022)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  22. ↑ "Avec amour et acharnement". Ad Vitam Distribution (in French). Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  23. ↑ Parlevliet, Mirko (19 October 2022). "AMC Plus October 2022 Programming Announced". VitalThrills.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  24. ↑ "The new album 'Past imperfect : the best of Tindersticks '92 - '21', to be released on March 25th". City Slang. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  25. ↑ Berlinale Live: Press conference "Both Sides of the Blade". Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival. 12 February 2022. 50:35–51:14 minutes in. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Keogan, Natalia (7 July 2022). "Both Sides of the Blade Is a Fiercely French Feat". Paste. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  27. ↑ Perez, Rodrigo (17 April 2022). "'Both Sides Of The Blade' Teaser Clip: Claire Denis' Romance Starring Juliette Binoche Arrives July 8". The Playlist. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  28. ↑ "Both Sides of the Blade". IFC Films. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  29. ↑ Colon, Tanguy (1 September 2022). "Box-office 1er jour : La Dégustation et Everything Everywhere All at Once dans un mouchoir". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  30. 1 2 "Avec amour et acharnement (2022)". JP Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  31. ↑ Colon, Tanguy (5 September 2022). "Box-office week-end : Everything Everywhere All at Once domine". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  32. ↑ "Both Sides of the Blade Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  33. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (12 February 2022). "Fire (or Both Sides of the Blade) review – Claire Denis' many-faced love story". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  34. ↑ Rooney, David (12 February 2022). "Juliette Binoche in Claire Denis' 'Both Sides of the Blade' ('Avec amour et acharnement'): Film Review | Berlin 2022". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  35. ↑ Maher, Kevin (12 February 2022). "Fire review — Juliette Binoche is superb in an enthralling love triangle". The Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  36. ↑ "Berlinale 2022: The Films of the Competition". Berlinale. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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