Bent on having a night of drunken debauchery Bart (Olivier Barthelemy), Ladj (Ladj Ly) and Thai (Nico Le Phat Tan) hook up with Eve (Roxane Mesquida), another patron of the Parisian bar, and one of its bartenders, Yasmine (Leïla Bekhti). Kicked out on Christmas Eve with nothing else to do, Eve invites the rest to her parents’ countryside home. Fill up the car with gas, grab some snacks and let’s get going. You’re about to meet ‘the locals’.
The quintet arrives the next morning and they meet Joseph, the groundskeeper – of course, along the country road. You’re immediately taken with Joseph. His stride is as wide as his grin. He appears to be a simple man shaped from years of working on the property. And it is all completely alien and absurd to the rest of the gang. No one but Eve will sip milk from the tit of one of the family’s goats. Outings around the property and village result in face-offs with the locals and a retreat is sounded back the countryside manor.
The evening closes with a timely discussion about religion and culture only to have Joseph, in his country ways, further split the great divide between the two groups with a tale of incest and racial slanders. All the while a strange woman is lurking around the house speaking of impending doom, leading the audience to believe that something bad is coming. The quest for sexual satisfaction, further blinded by drink, is all our three mates have in mind.
Sheitan is surely a lesson in tolerant and patient viewing. Not only is Sheitan an incredible mind-fuck (director Kim Champiron claims the idea for the film was fuelled by LSD) but the crassness and country manner of characters like Joseph also fiddles with conscience of any city dweller as well. But, if it were not for the brilliant performance by Vincent Cassel I am sure that Sheitan would not have seen the light of day. He simply carries the film as it slogs through the first hour, before things go straight to hell and your bloodlust is satisfied in the last third of the film.
Cassel’s smile and gaze are instantly recognizable and he will have you in stitches throughout the film. Cassel’s Joseph IS the comic relief of the film. Everyone else in the cast gets their laugh but the success of this film rest solely on the performance of Cassel- both performances. What was the other performance you ask? Well, I cannot tell you, you know that. You’re going to have to see for yourself.
Do you need drugs to enjoy Sheitan, a film reportedly conceived during the use of hallucinogenic drugs? I can’t condone the use of drugs to heighten the experience of a film viewing. In all honesty it might just slow things down for you being on par with the maniacal bursts and twists that fuel Champiron’s work. And Cassel’s Joseph may just come across as one of your mates crashed out on the couch beside you and the menace will be gone. For now let my vagueness and aversive review fuel your curiosity as you hunt this little gem down. Bonne Chance Mes Amis!