This Is My Mother

Agnès Jaoui and William Lebghil dazzle as they tread the fine line between comedy and tragedy in Julien Carpentier’s incredibly charming and moving first feature film about bipolar disorder.
When your mother who lives with bipolar disorder slips out of the facility she’s been admitted to and bursts into your life like a hurricane, anxiety, onerous responsibility, guilt and bad memories abound. But, fundamentally, there’s also love. Unfurling over a mere 24 hours, the story penned by the director together with Benjamin Garnier pinpoints the deep, emotional stakes of the circumstances (their painful past, the tumultuous present, their uncertain future…) perfectly. It’s a brilliant work that takes a respectful approach to bringing a “difficult” subject into a mainstream cinema world, which owes a lot to the exceptional performances of Agnès Jaoui and William Lebghil.