«Les Invisibles», a social comedy

Cinema Wednesdays - Loris S. Musumeci

From a woman on a bus, we go straight to the gate of a day center for homeless women. They wait, as they do every morning, to enter Envol. Once inside, the organization is state-of-the-art. Shampoo is distributed, sockets are assigned for recharging phones and a corner of the house is set aside for snoozing in peace. But the center is no longer profitable. Those in charge are criticized for pampering the women too much. The center had to close. But the educators' imagination is not exhausted: they are going to do everything they can to prove to the authorities that the women who attend Envol are capable of reintegrating into society. 

The idea is a good one. In a style that straddles the border between documentary and fiction, the viewer is made aware of an often invisible reality: there are also women on the street. We call them the invisible ones, precisely because few people notice them. We still had to avoid falling into the trap of misery. Mission accomplished for Louis-Julien Petit, who colors his social film with a touch of comedy. The story of these women is not to be taken lightly: between the former escort girl, or the woman who went to prison because she killed her husband, they're all there. 

Without mockery, the script makes a mockery of each woman's job search. They are inevitably clumsy, despite the help provided by the educators. What's more, they all have celebrity pseudonyms, from Dalida to Brigitte Macron, which makes you smile right from the start. The film's light-heartedness does not, however, overlook the seriousness of the situation. In this sense, the right balance between comedy and social film has been found. 

At the risk of sounding foolish, The Invisibles still manages to deliver a message of hope. Every woman has skills just waiting to be put to use. That's why the center organizes an open day where each woman is responsible for a workshop of her own, from bookselling to psychoanalysis sessions - and yes, there's even a psychoanalyst who benefits from the center, proving that no one is immune. 

The name feel good movie is a perfect fit for the film, which at the same time accepts that it's not a masterpiece, and that it's not great cinema. But that's not the point. The Invisibles is a human experience at the heart of misery, yet one that doesn't watch itself suffer and does everything in its power to get back on its feet. Thanks to mutual aid. Thanks to the touching complicity of these women, who all share the same comforting smile. For that alone, it's well worth seeing.  

Write to the author: loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Frenetic Films