Directed by Philippe Lesage | 155 mins | 2024
Secluded getaways rarely go well in cinema, and the incredible concision of "Who by Fire" allows one to quickly surmise unease. Just how it does so, in its altogether surprising cohesion of character and incident, further proves Philippe Lesage a major voice. When Blake Cadieux, a popular filmmaker, gathers with his old friend Albert in a countryside mansion, an intergenerational clash forms between the former collaborators, Albert's teenage son and daughter, and the son's friend: brutal arguments over artistic vocation, adolescent romantic infatuations, and the threat of severe violence ensue. All of which plays before stunning widescreen landscapes and between genuine joy—safe to say the B-52s have never had better cinematic treatment—rendering "Who by Fire" a potent study of what makes life worthwhile.