A fine film about the difficult condition of women experiencing street life, “Les Invisibles” partly owes its success to its always very fair cast. Besides, one of the stars was also homeless for a period of his life.
The Invisibles: a beautiful film about strong women
Social issues are sources of inspiration for cinema. France has obviously explored this vein, with works striking. It is in this current that The Invisibles by Louis-Julien Petit.
The film, which brought together more than a million spectators in theaters nationwide, is an adaptation of On the road of the invisible, women in the street a book written by Claire Lejeune. Originally, the author immersed herself for months in the daily life of homeless women. His observation work allows The Invisibles to overflow with realism, despite a few forced touches of fiction.
The scenario focuses on Envol, a day center reserved for women. Alas, this refuge for souls in pain is seriously questioned by the municipality. The latter believes that it is time to close the place because of a much too low reintegration rate. The social workers refuse to abandon these women in need and set up a clandestine center. A nice project on paper that will also get them in trouble…
The Invisibles ©Apollo Films
A film star experienced life on the streets
The Invisibles, therefore, talks about life on the streets from a less usual feminine angle. From this subject, Louis-Julien Petit manages to juggle between seriousness and lightness, humor and drama. In the end, what emerges is a beautiful human film served by endearing actresses.
The nice idea is to mix professional actresses and amateurs, who bring their experience to the project. To give an example, Adolpha Van Meerhaeghe, who plays Chantal, actually experienced prison for killing her husband who was violent towards him.
Furthermore, Corinne Masiero has also experienced life on the streets in her life. Before being famous, the one we saw in Captain Marleau fell low. During her youth, she became a heavy drug user, indulged in alcohol, sold her body, and spent time on the streets.
Suffice to say that its place in The Invisibles completely makes sense. A personal experience that has nourished his role and on which has already dwelled, particularly with The Parisian where she tells herself bluntly:
I hustled on the sly when I needed money or just to sleep over at someone’s house. Otherwise, I slept in a corner of a window, a park, a garage, a squat… or in an office that I cleaned during the day.
