Angel (Koen Miller, 2018): Belgium | Netherlands | Senegal

Reviewed by Nicholas DeBruno. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Angel, directed by Koen Miller (22nd of May), is a drama about a successful French cyclist, Thierry, who, after a tragic accident, takes a vacation with his brother to Senegal. After a drug filled day of partying he meets a prostitute named Fae (Fatou N’Diaye). Throughout the rest of the night Thierry and Fae fall in love and plan a life together. Not sure if this is all a drug fueled fever dream, the audience must navigate the film with Thierry and Fae as they discover themselves.

Being one of the most uniquely stylistic films that I have viewed recently, it is safe to say that it will keep you on your toes both visually and narratively. The film uses match cuts prolifically before Fae and Thierry meet showing the audience that the characters are connected in a deep way right from the beginning of the film. This can get a little confusing at times but I felt that it was managed nicely and really added to the overall value of the movie. Similarly, had amazing use of pan cuts, hiding edits in the motion of the camera. This gave cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis the ability to film sequences with creatively meaningful jump cuts hidden by camera pans. Once again this makes the story a little more difficult to follow if you aren’t paying close attention, but I believe that the little details like these are what really made the film stand out as something really special.

This film will take you through the life of a wildly successful athlete who is addicted to the momentary highs found in things like drugs and prostitution, and his second chance at a more meaningful life through his newfound love. It will take you through his depressive visions of death and suffering. Angel has a lot to say about the meaninglessness of money and power. No matter how rich or how powerful you are, we as humans all crave something intangible and having this is a far better measure of happiness.