THE FIVE DEVILS: A Spell for the Senses

The sophomore feature from director Léa Mysius—whose previous credits include co-writing Claire Denis’ Stars at Noon and Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District—The Five Devils is an intoxicating exploration of love, identity, and memory, filtered through the eyes (and nose) of one very special child. Co-written by Mysius with the film’s cinematographer, Paul Guilhaume, The Five Devils beautifully portrays that distinct period of youth when your perspective on the adults around you begins to sharpen and clarify, revealing new truths about them and your role in their lives. It also confirms Mysius as one of the most intriguing new talents in French cinema.

Memory Magic

Vicky (talented newcomer Sally Dramé) lives in a small mountain town with her mother, swimming instructor Joanne (Adèle Exarchopoulos, who has developed a compelling maturity since her breakthrough role in Blue is the Warmest Color), and her father, firefighter Jimmy (Moustapha Mbengue). A mixed-race child in a very white community, Vicky is the target of vicious, racist teasing by her classmates; she prefers the company of her mother, with whom she is extremely close. When not accompanying Joanne on her regular swims in the icy lake near their home—blowing a whistle at a specific time to ensure her mother doesn’t freeze to death—Vicky captures various scents and collects them in carefully labeled glass jars. Her sense of smell is almost otherworldly strong; even when blindfolded, Vicky can find Joanne in the woods by her distinct scent alone.

One day, Jimmy’s estranged sister Julia (Swala Emati) reappears in town after a decade away, much of which was spent in prison. Julia’s sudden arrival causes friction not only in Joanne and Jimmy’s already strained relationship but in the community as a whole. Both intrigued and threatened by this strange newcomer, Vicky captures Julia’s scent as well. But when she takes a whiff of the jar, Vicky is magically transported back in time to a period prior to her birth, when Joanne and Julia were teammates on the local gymnastics team and Jimmy was dating their friend Nadine (Daphné Patakia, best known for Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta). As Vicky uncovers the secrets buried in these memories—including the true nature of Joanne’s relationship with Julia—she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her family and her own existence, including her mother’s love.

Her Smell

The Five Devils mixes magical realism with family drama and queer romance to tell a story that feels painfully real even in its most fantastical moments; the film’s supernatural elements enhance, rather than distract from, the tragic reality of the characters, all of whom are so tangled up in the various “what ifs?” of their pasts that they have been neglecting their happiness in the present. The adult actors all do an admirable job of embodying these characters as both impetuous youths and jaded adults, switching back and forth between these two eras with exceptional delicacy.

But the enigmatic Exarchopoulos is the standout; as the camera lurks at her shoulder, quietly observing her in the same way that Vicky does, one is struck by a desire to know exactly what she is thinking as well as a realization that one never truly will. These quiet moments with this complicated woman are some of the most impactful in the film, though part of that is due to a notable weakness in the script—namely, that Mbengue and Emati are not given nearly as much to do. The characters of Jimmy and Julia are primarily viewed through the lens of their relationships with Joanne; I wanted to know more about them and their own thoughts and feelings, especially how they felt about being some of the only Black residents of a town that was otherwise so white. However, the film’s white screenwriters—as remarkable as they are at exploring various other complex dynamics in The Five Devils—do not delve as deeply into these issues as perhaps a screenwriter of color might have done.

Dramé is a delight as the inquisitive Vicky, wise beyond her years but still so naive when it comes to the adult relationships around her. In what ends up being a turning point in the film, Vicky accompanies the three adults on a night out, observing them coolly through kaleidoscopic glasses as Joanne gets drunk and coaxes Julia into dueting with her on Total Eclipse of the Heart while Jimmy looks on like a voyeur, embarrassed and uncomfortable. (The Five Devils features many prominent needle drops; this one is by far the best.) The intimacy between the two women is obvious to everyone, even Vicky, leading the young girl to wonder whether her mother would rather have Julia in her life than her.

Of course, the truth is far more nuanced than that, something that Vicky gradually begins to understand towards the end of the film. We understand it long before she does; indeed, the hidden secrets at the heart of The Five Devils are not terribly difficult for the (adult) audience to comprehend, but that doesn’t make their gradual unveiling via Vicky’s repeated scent-induced trips back in time any less satisfying, especially when these scenes are so enhanced by Guilhaume’s stunning cinematography and Florencia Di Concilio’s evocative score.

Conclusion:

Weird, romantic, and undeniably powerful in spite of its imperfections, The Five Devils is a film that deserves your attention.

The Five Devils begins streaming exclusively on Mubi on May 12, 2023.

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