Les Olympiades, by Jacques Audiard
The 2021 film directed by Jacques Audiard, a central figure in Contemporary French Cinema, is an ode to modern relationships. The screenplay was co-written with Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Léa Mysius (The Five Devils), and Nicolas Livecchi.
The story takes place in the 13th arrondissement — district — of Paris, where Émilie lives in a big apartment. She is looking for a roommate to share it with, and that’s how she meets Camille, a teacher who is currently preparing to start working on his doctoral degree. Eventually, they become lovers.
As with all relationships, they have their ups and downs, but this film explores how the boundaries between love and friendship get intertwined in contemporary bonds: are they friends that have sex, or something else too? They decide to go with the flow but, eventually, feelings get in the way and Camille has to leave the apartment. After getting a job in real estate, he meets Nora, and they begin a relationship as well. But, at the same time, Nora is getting to know Amber, through video cam shows and Skype calls.
Les Olympiades weaves this complex web of love, friendship, and heartbreak intimately. It’s a beautifully crafted film, from the screenplay to the photography and music. The film is shot in black and white, and though this type of photography is reminiscent of 1960s Paris, it doesn’t bring a nostalgic tone; rather, it uses the subtleness of the lack of color to create a story that is fresh, new, and vivid. Funny and dramatic at times but in a very delicate way.
It’s also an exploration of how new relationships arise and grow, and their dependance on the place where they are located. Les Olympiades is far from the tourist sites of Paris; it’s a working-class arrondissement and the film doesn’t overlook this fact. It constructs a view of what a community and a collective spirit are like and how this affects each individual. It does so by digging deeply into its characters’ personalities, desires, feelings, and how they interact with one another.
Are modern relationships possible without technology? Well, here the answer seems to be no, but the film doesn’t stay at the surface of an idea as commonplace as this one; it looks into what virtuality does to human interaction in a much deeper and particular way. There may be a screen between Nora and Amber at the beginning of their bond, but when they finally meet in person it’s as if that distance never existed, and they ache for each other’s touch and kiss.
Even when characters are talking on the phone or on video calls, and the screen splits in half, the bond between them remains strong and real. There’s one scene where Nora and Amber are Skyping and falling asleep while they talk, but they decide to leave the call on so they don’t feel lonely in case they wake up.
And I think that this happens too because bodies in this film are central to what gives the narration its rhythm and sensuality. There are a lot of shots which involve the bodies of the characters, like close-ups of the skin, especially while they are having sex, and it’s as if the movie is saying: here’s where the connection lies, the heart of human relationships, in physical contact and its heat. Touch is everything in this film, and one’s own body is like the map that keeps track of all the relationships the characters have had.
Les Olympiades not only shows us the depth and complexities of contemporary relationships, but also brings Paris’ 13th district to the center: the first take of the film shows us the buildings typical of this area from up above, and many windows lit up in them. As the camera closes in, we see Émilie and Camille inside the apartment, having fun, enjoying themselves. Then the camera goes back outside and we see the city again, alive, breathing along with its characters, covering them in a new light.
