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Vincent Must Die

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Vincent Must Die
Theatrical release poster
FrenchVincent doit mourir
Directed byStéphan Castang
Written byMathieu Naert
Produced byClaire Bonnefoy
Thierry Lounas
StarringKarim Leklou
Vimala Pons
CinematographyManuel Dacosse
Edited byMéloé Poillevé
Music byJohn Kaced
Production
companies
Distributed byCapricci Films
Release dates
  • 19 May 2023 (2023-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 15 November 2023 (2023-11-15) (France)
Running time
108 minutes
CountriesFrance
Belgium
LanguageFrench
Box office$158,787[1]

Vincent Must Die (French: Vincent doit mourir) is a 2023 French-Belgian satirical black comedy thriller film, directed by Stéphan Castang in his feature-length directorial debut.[2]

Plot

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Vincent is a graphic designer in Lyon who finds that everyone, starting with his coworkers but soon expanding out into the wider community, suddenly wants to kill him for no obvious reason.[3] He eventually meets Margaux, a waitress who seems to be the only person not out to kill Vincent. Later when he tries to drive away with her, he hears of a plague on the radio, and sees a pile of cars with people who have gotten out and try to kill each other.

Cast

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  • Karim Leklou as Vincent Borel
  • Vimala Pons as Margaux Lamy
  • François Chattot as Jean-Pierre Borel, Vincent's father
  • Michaël Perez as Joachim DB
  • Emmanuel Vérité as Yves
  • Jean-Rémi Chaize as Alex
  • Ulysse Genevrey as Hugo Monnier
  • Karoline Rose Sun as Audrey
  • Sébastien Chabane as Lionel
  • Pierre Maillet as the psychiatrist
  • Anne-Gaëlle Jourdain as Marie
  • Jean-Christophe Folly as Lucas
  • Benoît Lambert
  • Léna Dia
  • Guillaume Bursztyn
  • Maurin Olles
  • Mikael Foisset
  • Brigitte Margerie

Release

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The film premiered in the Critics' Week program at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.[4] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'World Cinema' section and was screened on 7 October 2023.[5]

It was theatrically released in France on 15 November 2023 by Capricci Films.[6][7]

Reception

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Critical response

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Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood reviewed the film positively, writing that "for all its deadpan humor — an altercation by an open sewer goes exactly the way you think/hope it might — Vincent Must Die is a really rather thoughtful film about the minefield of microaggressions that await us all. You can read the set-up as a metaphor for office politics, and the rest of it as allegory for the internecine nature of social media, where the mildest of opinions can ruin lives and reputations. Most of all, though, it is a joyfully absurdist tale of everyday alienation writ large. If Samuel Beckett had scripted Shaun of the Dead, it might have looked something like this."[3]

Fabien Lemercier of Cineuropa wrote that "careering along at top speed and punctuated by fights which are all the more hellish for the fact the individuals involved don't have a liking for fights and they break out in the most unseemly of places (notably a septic tank), Vincent Must Die injects much needed dark humour (flirting with slapstick) into a razor-sharp, pre-apocalyptic societal portrait (based on an incredibly rich script whose underlayers come courtesy of Mathieu Naert). Carried by the formidable talent of its lead actor, and wonderfully enveloped by Manu Dacosse's photography and John Kaced's music, the film sucks the viewer into its many twists and turns, releasing enough in its uncompromising wake to make us reflect upon the state of the modern world. It's a highly promising prototype from an exciting new generation of French filmmakers who cite Carpenter and Romero among their sources of inspiration."[2]

Christian Zilko of IndieWire was more dismissive, grading the film B− and opining that "Castang and screenwriter Mathieu Naert seem to tease us with the multitude of exciting paths that the film could go down before ultimately choosing the least interesting one. Instead of continuing with the dark comedy or fleshing out the mythology of The Sentinel, they take the darkest route and leave us with something that begins to resemble a generic zombie movie by the end. The natural response to the first few dozen attempts on Vincent's life is righteous indignation at the poor man's mistreatment. But after an hour and a half, it's fair to wonder if the possessed mob is onto something."[4]

Accolades

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At the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival, the film received a special mention from the Cheval Noir award jury.[8]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 27 May 2023 Caméra d'Or Stéphan Castang Nominated [9]
César Awards 23 February 2024 Best First Feature Film Vincent Must Die Nominated [10]
[11]
Louis Delluc Prize 6 December 2023 Best First Film Nominated [12]
Lumières Award 22 January 2024 Best Actor Karim Leklou Nominated [13]
Best First Film Vincent Must Die Nominated
Magritte Awards 9 March 2024 Best Foreign Film in Coproduction Vincent Must Die Won [14]
Best Sound Dirk Bombey, Emilie Mauguet, Xavier Thieulin and Bertrand Boudaud Nominated [15]

References

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  1. ^ "Vincent Must Die (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b Fabien Lemercier, "Review: Vincent Must Die". Cineuropa, 19 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b Damon Wise, "'Vincent Must Die' Review: Beckett Meets 'Shaun Of The Dead' In This Satirical French Horror – Cannes Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood, 19 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b Christian Zilko, "'Vincent Must Die' Review: 'John Wick' Isn't Nearly as Interesting When the Guy's a Schlub". IndieWire, 26 May 2023.
  5. ^ "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Et la fête continue !, Vincent doit mourir, Little Girl Blue... Les sorties cinéma du 15 novembre". La Croix (in French). 15 November 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  7. ^ ""Vincent doit mourir" : ce film angoissant qui reflète la violence de la société a été tourné à Lyon". Franceinfo (in French). 16 November 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  8. ^ Erik Pedersen, "Fantasia Film Festival Awards: 'Red Rooms' Takes Best Feature & Two Others; 'Femme' A Double Winner – Full List". Deadline Hollywood, 30 July 2023.
  9. ^ Colon, Tanguy (28 April 2023). "Cannes 2023 : Anaïs Demoustier présidera le jury de la Caméra d'Or". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  10. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (24 January 2024). "Cesar Awards Nominations: Thomas Cailley's 'The Animal Kingdom,' Justine Triet's Oscar-Nominated 'Anatomy of a Fall' Lead the Way". Variety. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ^ Roxborough, Scott; Szalai, Georg (24 January 2024). "Cesar Nominations: 'Anatomy of a Fall,' 'The Animal Kingdom' Lead the Pack for French Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ^ Vaz, Robin (23 November 2023). "Le prix Louis-Delluc 2023 dévoile ses présélections !". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  13. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (14 December 2023). "Anatomie d'une chute domine les nominations pour les Lumières". Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  14. ^ Saint-Amand, François (8 March 2024). "Les Magritte du Cinéma 2024 : "Dalva" remporte sept Magritte dont le Meilleur film, découvrez le palmarès complet". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Nominations aux Magritte : un record pour le long-métrage 'Augure' de Baloji". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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