It's a psychological, legal drama set in 2016 in Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France. It follows a writer attending the trial of a Senegalese woman who has admitted to the infanticide of her 15-month-old daughter. It's based on and uses some of the transcripts of the actual trial of Fabienne Kabou.
Rama (Kayije Kagame) is a novelist and university professor who travels to Saint-Omer for the trial of Laurence Coly (Gustagie Malanda). Laurence admits she left her baby on the beach while the tide was coming in, assuming the baby would be washed out to sea. The baby died, but the body was discovered, and the police quickly located Laurence. She had a relationship with a much older married Frenchman, Luc Dumontet (Xavier Maly).
La Présidente du tribunal (Valérie Dréville) does most of the questioning of Laurence and the other witnesses, including Dumontet and Laurence's mother, Odile Diatta (Salimata Kamate). Rama observes each day of the trial and reflects on her own pregnancy (she's four months along) and the trial's meaning for her. Like Laurence, Rama is of African heritage and in a relationship with a white man. Laurence is a very complex character who invokes magic, spells, and an outsider self-perception as part of her explanation. Rama refers to Medea in Greek mythology. The film ends inconclusively.
"Saint Omer" asks many questions and provides no answers. Issues include sanity, otherness, mixed-race relationships, and personal agency. There is much silence in the film that, at times, is unnerving. Kagame and Malanda are both very striking in their appearance. The women are the strong characters in this film. The lack of any resolution I found disappointing.
Rama (Kayije Kagame) is a novelist and university professor who travels to Saint-Omer for the trial of Laurence Coly (Gustagie Malanda). Laurence admits she left her baby on the beach while the tide was coming in, assuming the baby would be washed out to sea. The baby died, but the body was discovered, and the police quickly located Laurence. She had a relationship with a much older married Frenchman, Luc Dumontet (Xavier Maly).
La Présidente du tribunal (Valérie Dréville) does most of the questioning of Laurence and the other witnesses, including Dumontet and Laurence's mother, Odile Diatta (Salimata Kamate). Rama observes each day of the trial and reflects on her own pregnancy (she's four months along) and the trial's meaning for her. Like Laurence, Rama is of African heritage and in a relationship with a white man. Laurence is a very complex character who invokes magic, spells, and an outsider self-perception as part of her explanation. Rama refers to Medea in Greek mythology. The film ends inconclusively.
"Saint Omer" asks many questions and provides no answers. Issues include sanity, otherness, mixed-race relationships, and personal agency. There is much silence in the film that, at times, is unnerving. Kagame and Malanda are both very striking in their appearance. The women are the strong characters in this film. The lack of any resolution I found disappointing.