The film

Synopsis

A fossil hunter meets a trio of sirens. The encounter between mortals and immortals is a recurring theme in mythology. Histoire des sables asks the question in its turn: is immortality worth living?

As in ancient theatre, some of the characters form a chorus: the regulars of a village bar, reincarnations of the “most illustrious drinkers” so dear to Rabelais. The plot of the film springs from their prankish ravings and their collective make-believe.

Histoire des sables is a plot hatched by a band of jokers looking for a cure for boredom, but also intent on passing on a truth of their own making. An amused fable, somewhere between parody and phantasmagoria.

Statement of intent

In Homer, the son of Laertes comes across goddesses who wish him well. But this mere mortal means to remain one: he declines the offers of Circe and Calypso. Nothing seems more enviable to him than to complete his journey as a man. Is it not more interesting to embrace a singular experience, one that sooner or later leads us to go and see what lies “beyond”?

The characters of Histoire des sables offer their own answer. The film’s approach calls for distance: lines, tirades and tales take on a tone that is by turns musical, ironic, elegiac or incantatory. Some passages are chanted or sung. The original score underlines this dreamlike dimension, while bursts of flamenco punctuate the fierce, jubilant speech of the sirens.

Junior, the film’s protagonist — or rather “the all-too-juvenile lead” — has never got over being top of the class. His short-sighted idea of success makes him susceptible to honours and leads him to fall into every trap. He ends up a hero and reaches his apotheosis, the hallmark of scapegoats, of those “who didn’t get the film at all”.

Finally, the film revisits the myth of the sirens. It is significant that Ulysses took the trouble to listen to them; but Homer merely mentioned their song without giving us its words. The finale of Histoire des sables reveals them.

Claude Leroy

Technical sheet

Title

Histoire des sables

Directed by

Claude Leroy, Sabri Tida

Screenplay and dialogue

Claude Leroy

Original music

Patrick Leroy

Artistic coordination

Anita Vilfrid

Production

Mantiquo productions

Year

2024

Running time

82 min

Country

France

Editing and post-production

Julien Colin

Cinematography

Cédric Marcellin · additional photography: Julien Colin

Lighting

Laetitia Orsini, assisted by Sébastien Loigerot

Sound

Christophe Montet · additional sound recording: Grégoire Tacussel

Sound editing and mixing

Patrick Clody — Save studio

Colour grading

Félix Abt — Cairn productions

Format

[À CONFIRMER]

Language

French

Subtitles

English and Spanish