Nationalité : Italien, Belge, Américain
Genre : Drame
Durée : 1h40min
Date de sortie : Prochainement
Réalisateur : Roberto Minervini
Acteurs principaux : acteurs inconnus
Fille de fermiers très religieux, Sara et ses onze frères et soeurs suivent de rigoureux préceptes
Bibliques. Comme ses soeurs, elle apprend à être une femme pieuse, soumises aux hommes tout en gardant une pureté émotionnelle et physique intacte jusqu’au mariage. Quand Sara rencontre Colby, un jeune cow-boy adepte de rodéo, elle se trouve confrontée à des doutes, remettant en cause le seul mode de vie qu’elle n’ait jamais connu. Par un portrait émouvant de l’Amérique contemporaine et de ses communautés insulaires, Stop the Pounding Heart est une exploration de l’adolescence, de la famille, des valeurs sociales et du rôle de la religion dans les zones rurales du Sud des États-Unis.
(L'avis exprimé par les rédacteurs de cette rubrique est indépendant du travail et des choix du Jury oecuménique.)
18 mai 2013
Stop the Pounding Heart is a dramatic title for such a quiet, gentle, observant film. The filmmakers offer no real plot to speak of, but instead simply follow the daily life of Sara, a 14-year old girl raised on farm in Texas by a devotedly Christian family. With absolute naturalism, the film observes the details of her life : Sara going about her chores, attending family prayer time and Bible studies, helping to home school the many siblings, watching an actual home birth, practicing shooting with her father. We hear her parent’s words as they teach the Bible and talk with deep sincerity of marriage, a woman’s "Biblical" role as subservient to the husband, and abstinence before marriage. We see the family visiting the local rodeo and the young bull rider that catches Sara’s eye. We slowly, very slowly, observe discontent rising up in Sara’s heart.
Having been personally raised in a Christian family, and near communities of home schoolers, I have never witnessed such an authentic portrayal of these types of beliefs and this very specific type of American faith. The insider language and internal logic of this community feel absolutely genuine at every moment. The acting is so natural that I’m convinced the players were cast from within that type of community. The people on the farm are absolutely kind, but also insular and self-reinforcing. The film does not judge, but simply observes and ponders. We can understand the pull of such a loving place with so many answers and so many people who all believe the same way. We can also understand the suffocation.
While I found the details of the film fascinating to watch, the film offers little else but those details. It watches, and we watch, and hopefully we ponder with it, but those seeking narrative momentum will be left unsatisfied. Those seeking reflection and observation will come away full.
