Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)
It takes genuine bravery to look at yourself and confront your problems, and it takes even more strength to laugh at them just a little bit. Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) is a powerfully stunning documentary look at the raw power of loss and how there’s no real way to get over it.
It’s the rural Belgian country side and Marcel is the throes of a full bore mid life crisis. His wife has left him for another man, he barely sees his kids, and he’s in a tail spin of depression. He turns to the bottle with bad results, and he only has one person to take care of him, his friend and fellow alcoholic, Bob.
With their debut feature Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden make Ne Me Quitte Pas into a stark and emotional look at what happens when someone becomes truly broken. The filmmakers stay out of the way of their subjects, making the results far more affecting. Everything feels as unvarnished, but we can’t help but root for Marcel when he tries to get better, but also get annoyed when he can’t bring himself to get out of bed in the morning. It’s tragic, and it feels real.
It’s an experiential documentary, not necessarily about the loss of family and loved ones, but about two guys set in their ways who have only just realized that life has passed them by. The real drama is from watching them catch up. (Dave Voigt)
Screens
Thursday, November 13th, 6:30pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox
