3.5/5
Review by John P. Harvey.
Clara (Julia de Nunez), who has trained life long as a French chef under her father, Paskal (Clovis Cornillac), is preparing to tell him that she is going to leave with her lover, Antoine (Julien De Saint Jean), another of Paskal’s protegés. But, on the very day on which her father may win a third Michelin star, he and Antoine, separated from others while hunting in the woods, both disappear. A police search for them eventually grinds to a halt, leaving Clara untethered, with just the forlorn hope of hearing from one of them.
Clara’s grandfather arrives from the home country, Poland, to suggest she return there with him, which she does, leaving the family restaurant in the hands of her co-workers. In Poland, Clara works to distract herself, but the mystery continues to haunt her.
When, after two years, she receives an invitation to an international gastronomic fair in Taipei, a fair to which her father had promised to one day take her, Clara wonders: could her father be signalling her that he is there? And can she pursue that question without interference by the media, the police, and the irritatingly persistent food critic Maxime Mangenot (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing)?
The film’s title suggests reparations; even possibly vengeance. But Redress is not that kind of film. Rather, it is a mystery that gives rise to drama, with elements of thriller and romance.
The story is, as it should be, intriguing; the questions it raises steadily build suspense; and its eventual climax, though bringing few neat solutions, nicely resolves that suspense. Its cinematography adds to the film’s various moods with evocative scenes of the woods, bright and noir views of Taipei, and mouthwatering attention to beautifully prepared restaurant dishes. It is complemented by a flowing score by Romano Musumarra. Régis Wargnier’s first feature film in a decade shows a refined sense of pace and mood balance that gives this mystery many facets to appreciate.
Screening at Palace cinemas.