Isabelle Carré excels in one of François Ozon’s most touching films.
An intimate exploration of the nature of family and blood ties, ‘Le refuge’ finds the young and beautiful Mousse (Carré) and Louis (Melvil Poupaud) lost in love, but torn apart through destructive impulses brought on by drug addiction. A tragic event and Mousse’s subsequent discovery that she is pregnant sees her leaving Paris for the coast in order to clean up her life. Several months later, she is joined by her equally troubled brother Paul (French singer Louis-Ronan Choisy in his first screen appearance). United in their grief, Mousse and Paul develop a close bond that might just save them from their worst impulses. Beautifully shot by Mathias Raaflaub, capturing the ravaged beauty of the French coastline, Ozon’s film is a moving and understated portrait of grief and recuperation.
★★★★ “A mesmerising performance from Isabelle Carré” - Dave Calhoun, Time Out
