✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Cinema

Eden film review ★★★★★

24 Jul 15 – 31 Aug 15, 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Eden film review: this new French film, depicting a fictitious DJ's experience of 1990s electronica is a passionate ode to the genre if a little overlengthy.

By CW Contributor on 20/7/2015

Eden film review [STAR:3]
Eden film review [STAR:3]
Eden film review 3 Eden film review Caroline Halstead
Dance music culture: French Touch
'French Touch' is a style of dance music that grew up in Paris in the late nineties, fusing American garage with funk and soul music. The scene that grew around French Touch gave birth to some of the most renowned pop artists in the world, including the likes of Daft Punk, Justice and Air. 
French director Mia Hansen-Løve's new film Eden concerns the progress of a much less familiar name: a fictional DJ named Paul (Felix De Givry) who, despite his presence at the scene's genesis never achieved comparable success.
In Eden, the film starts at a party in an abandoned submarine somewhere in Paris, at which Paul is DJ-ing. From an obscure artist on an underground scene, Paul's career gathers pace and in its wake come a rag tag group of followers. Indeed, one of the notable aspects of this film is its array of characters which, like the clientèle of a club, is sprawling and diverse.
A notable member of Paul's entourage is the American ex-pat Julia, played by the mumble core stalwart Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) with whom Paul has a relationship. Gradually, however, his career tails off, his friends loose faith in him and the style of his music stagnates.
Eden movie review
In this respect, Eden differs from a lot of music films: its lead character doesn't follow a rapid rise and fall trajectory – in fact he rises only a little, and falls just a bit. It's a film about deflation, boredom, and the slow burn of disappointment. It's title, in this respect, is more than a little ironic.
That's not to say that it's not a lively film. After Eden's premiere screening at the Toronto Film Festival, the film received plaudits for the quality of its evocation of the Paris scene in the '90s, with its Dionysian clubs and vibrant social scene, not to mention the drugs.
The world of dance music is something that cinema rarely does well, unable to reconcile the dizzying whirl and vibrancy of the scene with the demand placed on all commercial cinema to produce a disciplined and coherent narrative. But Eden doesn't approach this world as most films do – it doesn't glorify it or overstate its glamour, rather it focuses on the mundanity that simmers away beneath its surface and in so doing creates what seems like a much truer, more authentic portrait.
This being said, the film has an overriding bleakness that leaves it hinging its character, its ode, around the music scene, and at times feels that this is at the sacrifice of an empathetic lead. De Givry's performance does, like his musical career, stagnate, and one starts to resent – like Paul's numerous girlfriends – his inability to adapt to his surroundings.   
Whilst the film's weightiness means it's not necessarily an enjoyable watch, movie buffs and music lovers alike will appreciate the film's unique depiction of art outside the limelight. 


explore more film recommendations 

What Eden film review
Where Various Locations | MAP
Nearest tube Leicester Square (underground)
When 24 Jul 15 – 31 Aug 15, 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Price £various
Website Click here for more information



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 27–29 January
Things to do in London this weekend: 27–29 January
Harrison Ford in Shrinking, AppleTV+ (Photo: Apple)
What to watch on TV this week
Culture After Dark: The Best Museum Late Night Openings
Culture After Dark: the best museum late-night openings

A little more

  • explore our cinema section

  • What the critics say 

    VARIETY

    'Hansen-Love is wonderfully attuned to the palpable electric currents that a perfectly mixed transition can send surging through a dance floor'

    Andrew Barker

    GUARDIAN

    'French director Mia Hansen-Løve’s fourth film is a superbly observed study of dance music and its attendant lifestyle.'

    Paul MacInnes

    Did you know?

    Even at the height of their success, Daft Punk would run into trouble with nightclub bouncers who failed to recognize them as artists employed by the club. Apparently, without their famous robotic helmets on, the bouncers refused to accept that they where who they said they were.

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

Eden 2015 film trailer

Curzon Home Cinema

You might like

  • The Wonders film still

    Cannes Film Winner 2014: The Wonders film

  • Actress Elizabeth Banks, Love & Mercy film still

    Love & Mercy: Movie About Beach Boys, 2015

  • Still from Beach Boys movie Love & Mercy

    Summer of Sound Season, Curzon Cinemas, London

  • Amy Winehouse Documentary AMY [STAR:5]

    Amy Winehouse Documentary AMY ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×