Jane Fonda once discussed how important it was to seek out and unearth details of her ancestors’/parents’ past in order to figure out where she came from and who she was, so she could move forward with who she wanted to be. And it was only when she discovered truths about her mother’s abuse and trauma that so much of her life began to make sense. And she was able to move forward.
In many respects that’s the theme of Raphaël Balboni & Ann Sirot’s beguiling drama, Diane in the Loop (Un détour par Diane). One daughter insists on digging into her mother’s past, not just to figure herself out, but to help her mother heal and move on.
“Sometimes minding your own business is an easy way out,” she explains. But Diane is A LOT.
The movie centers on the 28-year-old titular character play with a ferocious intensity by screen newcomer Ninon Borsei, who has a complicated relationship with men. She doesn’t trust them but often desires them. And is, as often, in conflict with them. She’s also usually in conflict with her mother (Sandrine Blancke). She has a devoted father (Peter Van Den Begin) she sees once in a while—oh, and a wise grandmother (Jo Deseure) who appears to her quite often, despite the fact that she’s dead.
One day, after Diane is arrested for punching one of her “dates,” her mother, tired of Diane complaining about being humiliated, reveals that when she was 19 something terrible happened to her and that she knows what real humiliation is. Diane presses mom for details and she reveals she was raped three years before Diane was born. And that the rapist was struck by lightning and died sometime later. AND that she would like the past to stay in the past.
Angry that no retribution can be had, and without her mother’s knowledge, Diane sets out to the town where it all happened.
Meanwhile Diane’s mom is trying to figure out who she wants to be after capitulating to a settled and compromised life.
Along Diane’s literal journey she picks up a ruggedly handsome man (Lucas Meister) who’s bike is broken, only to be insulted when he uses the words, “charming surprise,” to describe seeing her. She kicks him out of her car only to return to the road two hours later to find him still walking his bike, without a ride. She offers to give him one, buys him a drink and then propositions him for sex. When he shows apprehension, she offers to pay him. He’s startled and says no. She gets insulted. They eventually do have sex and fall for each other.
What happens next is some crazy crackers plot twisty shit as Diane decides to desecrate the grave of the rapist, which has some unexpected ripple effects that brings, mom, dad and mom’s former best friend who slept with dad but is now mom’s lover (you read that correctly) out to the scene of the crime to bail Diane out of jail.
Belgian filmmakers Balboni and Sirot have crafted a beautiful and captivating film brimming with superb performances. One that digs deep into the tremendous bond between a mother and a daughter and touches on fate, karma and the power of catharsis.
It also has the perfect last line (which I will not quote) that can accurately describe this gem of a film.
Diane in the Loop (Un détour par Diane) is part of the Horizons (Orizzonti) section of the Venice Film Festival.
In French, with English subtitles.
