CINEMA: Home

Director Ursula Meier’s debut feature is a real curate’s egg of a film. Part road movie, part family drama, funny yet tragic, dark yet shot through with light, it constantly surprises the viewer and is one of the most audacious and original films of the year.

Marthe (Isabelle Huppert) and husband Michael (Olivier Gourmet) live with their three children in a house on the side of the motorway. However, their section of the road has never actually been open to traffic and they live an idyllic – if rather eccentric – life with their young son in particular revelling in the freedom the long stretch of empty road gives him. He uses it for roller skating, riding his bike and even as a running track. But with the holiday season about to start, the authorities decide to ease traffic congestion by opening the motorway and soon the family’s life is shattered.

Agoraphobic Marthe refuses to leave the house she calls home, while claustrophobic Michael feels he is being stifled as he has to board up windows in order to keep out the terrible noise. Even the family cat suffers – he has to be tied to a post so he won’t be run over. As the family starts to fall apart the motorway takes on the role of the enemy but Marthe and Michael refuse to let it beat them, eventually deciding on drastic action to preserve their sanity.

Home is a film where everyday objects suddenly take on a new and startling sheen. Far from being just a practical way to get from A to B, the motorway becomes an obstacle and another character within the film. A freezer becomes a life-saving necessity but also an awkward burden. Some of the imagery is extraordinary; a long shot of the son running along the hard shoulder wearing just his underpants and a snorkelling mask sums up why the film impresses so much.

Ursula Meier forces you to look at mundane objects in a totally new and surprising light and the result is odd, but rather exciting.

Dee Pilgrim