The Icarus Films April 24, 2018 DVD release of the 2017 French drama "A Violent Life" provides a history lesson in the form of a "Munich" style drama. The world event this time is the '90s-era nationalist movement in Corsica that protests the French rule of that nation; the human face is of 20-something radicalized activist Stephane.
The scroll with which writer/director Thierry de Perretti opens "Violent" briefly explains that the 19th century French purchase of his native island triggers a 1990s conflict regarding which students and other young folks are at the center. Stephane is one such angry young man who becomes involved in the struggle.
The oddest part of all this is that Stephane and his group never seem terribly worked up. The overall tone (including an overall mentality of killing two of theirs in response to them killing one of ours) is more of a mob turf war than an effort to throw off the shackles of tyranny.
"Violent" opens in the early 2000s with Stephane learning of the death of a brother-in-arms that is the focus of a grisly scene. The combination of that loss and survivor's guilt triggers flashbacks to how it all began.
The theme throughout is that Stephane gets in with a bad crowd. The drama from this includes an arrest, interrogation, and stint as a guest of the state.
Much of the rest of the film centers around the group of freedom fighters alternately running from the mercenaries assigned to kill them and hunting dowqn those hired guns. This includes our heroes capturing a prisoner-of-war.
The overlying (and universal) message of "Violent" is that Team Stephane consists of everyday guys who do their best to live ordinary lives while fighting what they consider the good fight. Work infringing on even sacred occasions shows that dedication to a struggle such as this requires a full-time commitment.
The bigger picture is that "Violent" introduces people to a conflict about which many of us do not know in a place regarding which most of us do not give much thought. This is further evidence of the limited perspective of the average American.
Anyone with questions or comments regrading "Violent" can either email me or connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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