New York Film Festival 2019 (forum)

[Chris Knipp]

SYNONYMS/SYNONYMES (Nadav Lapid 2019)

Synonymes is an explosive and theatrically stunning film that is delightful and surprising until it starts to go too far and a certain emptiness appears. Lapid, who's taking off from his own experience doing this same thing, depicts a youthful Israeli (amazing acting school find Tom Mercier) who goes to France wanting to forget or deny where he came from, speak only French, and become French. He loses everything at the outset, and is adopted by a rich young French couple.