''Acid'' (french: Acide; released in the Philippines as ''Acid Rain'') is a 2023 French-language

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by Just Philippot from a screenplay by Philippot and Yacine Badday. The film is a co-production between France and Belgium. It is an expansion of Philippot's 2018 short film of the same name. The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2023. It was released in France on 20 September 2023.

Synopsis

During a heat wave, strange clouds start pouring down acid rain, wreaking devastation and panic throughout France. In a world teetering on the edge, a girl and her divorced parents must join forces to confront and try to escape this climate catastrophe.

Cast

* Guillaume Canet as Michal * Laetitia Dosch as Elise * Patience Munchenbach as Selma * Marie Jung as Deborah * Martin Verset as William

Production

Development

''Acid'' was produced Yves Darondeau, Emmanuel Priou and Clément Renouvin for Bonne Pioche Cinéma and by Ardavan Safaee for Pathé Films. It was co-produced by France 3 Cinéma, Guillaume Canet's Caneo Films, Belgium's Umedia, and Logical Content Ventures.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began on 7 March 2022, under the working title ''Eau Forte''. Between 24 March and 7 April 2022, filming took place in

Pecqueuse Pecqueuse () is a commune in the Essonne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It lies adjacent to the west of the larger town Limours. Inhabitants of Pecqueuse are known as ''Pescusiens'' in French. Places to see * A church built ...

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Filming took place in

Visé Visé (; nl, Wezet, ; wa, Vizé) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle, ...

between 11 and 26 April 2022, with the Pont de Lanaye closed to facilitate the production. Filming also took place in

fort d'Emines The Fort d'Emines is one of nine forts built as part of the Fortifications of Namur in the late 19th century in Belgium. It was built between 1888 and 1892 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French fort ...

, Namur Province, and in Braine-le-Comte,

Hainaut Province Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...

, including in the Bois de la Houssière on 26 and 27 April 2022. Filming concluded in the middle of the night of 10 May 2022.

Music

The music for the film was composed by

Robin Coudert Robin Coudert (born 15 May 1978), also known by his stage name ROB, is a French pop/rock musician, singer-songwriter, producer and film score composer. Life and career Born in Caen, Robin Coudert, alias ROB, is a musician, author, singer, compos ...

Release

The film was selected to be screened out of competition in the Midnights Screenings section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 21 May 2023. The film was theatrically released in France on 20 September 2023 by

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

. In the Philippines, the film was released by Pioneer Films as ''Acid Rain'' on 17 January 2024.

Reception

Critical response

''Acid'' received an average rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 36 reviews. Reviewing the film following its Cannes premiere, Tim Grierson of ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' recognized the film's mélange of genres: "Philippot combines aspects of the

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as ...

and the

domestic drama Domestic drama expresses and focuses on the realistic everyday lives of middle or lower classes in a certain society, generally referring to the post-Renaissance eras. According to the ''English Communications Syllabus'', domestic drama refers to ...

, approaching each genre with understatement to deliver a modest study of personal and societal upheaval – and refusing to offer tidy resolutions on either front."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2023 films 2023 drama films 2023 fantasy films 2020s Belgian films 2020s French films 2020s French-language films Belgian drama films Belgian fantasy films Climate change films Features based on short films Films scored by Robin Coudert Films set in France Films shot in Belgium Films shot in Essonne France 3 Cinéma films French fantasy drama films French-language Belgian films Pathé films