Abuse of Weakness

This is the most overtly autobiographical of the works of French filmmaker and writer Catherine Breillat, but it is very much in keeping with her unsparing, singular vision. Abuse Of Weakness is based on a book by Breillat, a memoir of a vulnerable period when she suffered a debilitating stroke and became the victim of a con artist. She had sought this man out knowing his reputation; she was looking for someone to play a character in her new film, and when she saw him interviewed on television, she knew she had found her actor. Abuse Of Weakness begins with the experience of the stroke and its physical consequences, but the nature of strength and weakness in this stripped-back, tactile film is not always as it seems. Breillat depicts what arose between them, and it turns out to be a complex relationship of give and take that’s explored with a mixture of clarity and ambiguity. Breillat generally prefers to work with non-actors or non-traditional performers, but in this instance, she cast Isabelle Huppert in the central role, and the actress gives an extraordinary, committed performance. Alongside her, rapper Kool Shen provides an unsettling, low-key counterpoint.
Screens August 7, 9
MIFF 2014 digital program