CAGE

At the origin of this project is my desire to continue exploring a theme that is dear to me: the collapse of a world we believe to be stable, a theme addressed in my previous short films (A GOOD BOY, RESPIRE).

Aline is dealing with a seemingly trivial everyday situation: she forgot her keys and her partner is not there to let her in. Over the course of a few hours spent in her stairwell, she conducts an investigation in search of the truth and discovers the reality of her romantic situation—based on lies and the cowardice of the man with whom she shares her life. But her path, as she navigates this realization and collapse, is unique in that it is built like an inner investigation.

I decided to tell this story as a closed-door drama in a confined space and asked Lucie Debay to take on this challenge with me. To me, she is the ideal actress to play Aline. A woman, a mother, a lover—sometimes tough, sometimes naive, funny or dark—grappling with daily life and full of deep inner strength.

Aline’s story is that of someone who was kept away from the end of her own love story. Jérôme is a coward—he took advantage of her absence to leave and avoid a confrontation. I believe twisted stories happen to both men and women. I don’t want to make a film where two sides are in conflict—Woman vs. Man. From this point of view, it was important to me to present Aline’s relationship with her ex with a sense of camaraderie.

There is something in the way Aline navigates this evening that relates to the role society has assigned to her and that, in the face of collapse, she decides to deconstruct:

"I disturb, I break, I force, I scream, I no longer listen to you, and in the end I create."

I believe the viewer can only rejoice in the film’s conclusion, just as they may recognize themselves in the sensitivity with which Aline faces it.