Coalesce 2020

Coalesce 2020

Coalesce 2020
Les affluents (original title)
1h 23min | Drama | 26 September 2020 (France)

Storyline:

In Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, there are three young men. Songsa came to Phnom Penh to help sell clothes. Thy who wants a motorcycle, but doesn’t have money, sets foot in an entertainment establishment. Phearum drives a taxi, but there is no way to pay off his debt. What is the fate that lies before those who have to pursue money and dreams in a difficult reality? The film is based on a rapidly changing Cambodian society, with the story of three characters intersecting. This is the debut film of the new French director Jesse Miceli, who was invited to the ACID of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film gives a realistic view of young people in contemporary Cambodia.

User review:

” Les Affluents “, selected at Acid Cannes 2020, takes a look at three characters dreaming of a better life. Their point of convergence? Phnom Penh, a sprawling city of 2.3 million inhabitants, capital of Cambodia, and an event that will link their destinies as precarious workers. Taking its time, Jessé Miceli’s camera lingers to better give substance to each of its characters, between the one who is under family pressure to work, the more ambitious one, who wants to flirt with decency to achieve his ends. , and one who seeks to have a stable life, but puts himself at the service of people from other backgrounds.

Behind these three portraits looms a ruthless urban world, made of rivalries, violence and theft, but also the indecency of money and a certain residue of colonialism. A kind of dead end in which the scenario precipitates its characters, until the ending, more or less bitter. Aesthetically very worked in terms of light, this first feature film is also carried by three formidable interpreters, making the link with a myriad of other characters, around this city where everything mixes, where resourcefulness and shenanigans are in order, and where the youth seem to get drunk to forget their condition. In the end, ” Les Affluents ” is a particularly insightful film on the urban mirage in countries with galloping population growth.

Director: Jessé Miceli
Writer: Jessé Miceli
Stars: Eang Phearum, Sek Songsa, Rom Rithy
Country: Cambodia | France
Language: English | Khmer
Release Date: 26 September 2020 (France)
Also Known As: Coalesce
Filming Locations: Cambodia