''Age of Panic'' (french: La Bataille de Solférino) is a 2013 French

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by

Justine Triet Justine Triet (born 17 July 1978) is a French film director, screenwriter and editor. She is a graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Her debut feature, '' Age of Panic'', was presented as part of the ACID programme at the 2 ...

. Much of the film was shot on the streets of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

during the 6 May 2012 national elections.

Plot

On 6 May 2012, the day of the second round of the French presidential election, TV journalist Laetitia (Dosch) is late leaving home for her assignment covering the events on

Rue de Solférino Rue de Solférino is a street in the Left Bank area of Paris. It was most commonly heard as a reference to the headquarters of the French Socialist Party, which were located there until 2018. The street is named after the Battle of Solferino, fou ...

(at the headquarters of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

) when her ex, Vincent (Macaigne), shows up a day late to his court-appointed time to visit their two daughters.

Cast

Lætitia Dosch Lætitia Dosch (; born 1 September 1980) is a French-Swiss actress, playwright and director. Her film credits include ''Age of Panic'', ''Keeper (film), Keeper'', ''Summertime (2015 film), Summertime'', ''Montparnasse Bienvenue (film), Montparnass ...

as Laetitia *

Vincent Macaigne Vincent Macaigne (born 19 October 1978) is a French actor, theatre director and film director. He is also a screenwriter and playwright. Life and career Macaigne was raised in Paris, the son of a French businessman and an Iranian-born painter. H ...

as Vincent *Arthur Harari as Arthur *Virgil Vernier as Virgil *Marc-Antoine Vaugeois as Marc *Jeane Ara-Bellanger as Jeane *Liv Harari as Liv *Emilie Brisavoine as Emilie *Vatsana Sedone as Vatsana, the neighbor *Colin Ledoux as man of the couple on the bridge *Chloé Lagrenade as woman of the couple on the bridge *Maxime Schneider as the driver *Guilhem Amesland as the militant fighter *

Aurélien Bellanger Aurélien Bellanger, (born 20 April 1980 in Laval, Mayenne), is a French writer and actor. He debuted in 2010 with a monograph about Michel Houellebecq and has since published four novels. His second novel, ''L'Aménagement du territoire'', receiv ...

as the militant UMP *Zine-Zine Sidi Omar as the investigator (as Sidi Omar Zine Zine)

Title

The original title is ''La Bataille de Solférino'', referring to the

Battle of Solferino The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Piedmont-Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together known ...

(an 1859 battle during the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

) and the

, a street in the Left Bank area of Paris, where the headquarters of the French Socialist Party (PS) are located.

Soundtrack

The closing credits features the song "Lose Your Soul" by

Dead Man's Bones Dead Man's Bones is a rock duo consisting of actor Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields. Their first album, ''Dead Man's Bones'', was released on 6 October 2009 through ANTI- Records. The entire album is a collaboration with the Silverlake Conservator ...

Release

''Age of Panic'' had its premiere in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

' . ''Age of Panic'' had theatrical showings in North America as part of the Rendez-vous with French Cinema series 2014 program (first screening on 7 March).

Critical response

Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an approval rating of 100%, based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 7.1/10. Jordan Mintzer of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' said of it: "With several scenes filmed on location during the actual Election Day events, ''Age of Panic'' mixes documentary-style drama with scenes of

Mumblecore Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent filmHoberman, J. (August 14, 2007).It's Mumblecore!. ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.Lim, Dennis (August 19, 2007)Mumblecore – The New Talkies: Generation DIY ''The New York Times''. Ret ...

-esque comedy in ways that are often compelling and occasionally quite funny. Triet definitely has a knack for creating uncomfortable situations that go from bad to awful, only to suddenly lighten up in the interim, and although she can't quite sustain things for feature length, the film's smart setup and ambitious shooting tactics make for a highly watchable affair." Ronnie Scheib of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' commented that "Triet brilliantly orchestrates the intersection of documentary and fiction. .. e spontaneous ebb and flow of the enormous French crowds seen here synchs visually and rhythmically with the film's domestic

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

, acted throughout with improvisatory immediacy. Although Drosch's Laetitia acts out the precarious pressures of the harassed career mom with considerable brio, it is Macaigne's Vincent, almost psychotically internalizing the panic of his thirtysomething generation, that lingers in the mind; indeed, the downbeat, dirty-haired Macaigne seems to be emerging as French indie cinema's newest neurotic loser par excellence." Kent Turner of ''Film-Forward'' said that "

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...

is necessary before watching Justine Triet's ''The Age of Panic'', with its

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

-producing first hour ..There's not a chance that anyone will nod off. The film singly breaks the festival out of any art-house stupor. The

IFC Center IFC Center is an art house movie theater in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. Located at 323 Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) at West 3rd Street, it was formerly the Waverly Theater, an art house movie theater. IFC Center is ...

called it an "enormously promising first feature, a very funny comedy of discomfort infused with documentary-style energy ..all within the frame of one manic day in Paris." In '' Cahiers du Cinéma'''s top ten of

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, it occupies the tenth place.

Accolades

''The Age of Panic'' won the audience prize at the Paris Cinema International Film Festival in July 2013. It was nominated for the Best First Feature Film at the 2014 César Awards.

References

External links

* * *
''La Bataille de Solférino''
at Allocine * (without English subtitles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Panic 2013 films 2013 comedy-drama films French comedy-drama films 2010s French-language films Films directed by Justine Triet Films set in Paris Films set in 2012 Films shot in Paris 2012 French presidential election 2010s French films