Film Review: KOUTÉ VWA: Maxime Jean-Baptiste’s Commendable Film Offers a Poignant Look at Grief [Locarno 2024]

Thomas Duffy August 20, 2024Last Updated: August 20, 2024

Melrick Diomar Koute Vwa

Kouté vwa Review

Kouté vwa / Listen to the Voices (2024) Film Review from the 77th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, written by Audrey Jean-Baptiste and Maxime Jean-Baptiste and starring Melrick Diomar, Nicole Diomar and Yannick Cébret.

Filmmaker Maxime Jean-Baptiste’s moving and sophisticated film, Kouté vwa, delves into situations that derive from real-life scenarios. It’s a masterfully layered picture with great depth that has three solid key performances at its center. It’s an exploration of dealing with tragedy in the main characters’ lives as they overcome elements of the past in order to come to terms with and try to accept the things that have happened and learn from them. Melrick Diomar, as a young boy in middle school, is excellent in the movie as he brings to life a character full of complexity trying to cope with the past and make a future for himself. Set in French Guiana, the movie places itself in a summer where certain events will come into play which, alas, are interwoven with the past.

Nicole Diomar is Melrick’s grandmother and she is the glue that holds the movie together. Early on, a conversation between Melrick and Nicole is almost like poetry. Melrick is having problems and Nicole tries to console the boy as she serves him dinner and wonders if he’s seeing any girls at school. Melrick dives into his opinion on social media and how it’s not wise in his opinion to date people who one meets on the internet. They can simply go back online and meet someone else.

Melrick also wonders about Nicole’s love life and she is not against dating but it doesn’t seem there’s a special somebody for her right now. This conversation is so different from anything we’re used to seeing in movies because it feels so authentic and something we rarely see. It’s not everyday that a movie bases itself in reality going as far to emulate real people in the characterizations that are presented. Nicole is not presented as simply Melrick’s grandmother but as a real woman who has genuine feelings and desires.

Melrick is an aspiring drummer. Nicole’s son, Lucas, died a little over a decade back. Yannick (Cébret, in a gripping turn) was Lucas’s close friend and reflects upon and remembers the life of Lucas. Melrick becomes a bit curious to learn more about the events that took Lucas from the world. Melrick learns more of Lucas’s past where he was a DJ and drummer. The movie becomes a testament to the idea of passing down a part of a legacy to Melrick who takes over where Lucas left off, especially in one key respect.

It’s hard to let go of the idea of violence when it is thrust upon someone that we love or remember and the movie greatly examines themes of family, love, anger, respect and revenge. Maxime Jean-Baptiste has crafted a delicate film with a lot of attention to some small, but relevant, details. These little things that he reflects upon thus create a bigger picture which even has more of a purpose than, perhaps, a larger picture that captured events as a whole would. It’s the minor details which coalesce within the movie that make it both intriguing and fascinating to behold.

The merging of the past and present is done in a unique way. This film is definitely a passion project for the director and it’s clear that the filmmaker has a lot of vivid storytelling abilities that this picture greatly benefits from. The movie doesn’t sugarcoat the events it portrays and there’s a very distinct reason for that. It also reminds viewers through the character of Melrick that the choices we make can ultimately dictate the lives we lead. Melrick must decide the correct path for himself.

Without a doubt, Nicole Diomar offers a lot of wisdom through her fine performance. She’s phenomenal. Surprisingly, though, it’s Melrick who truly makes this film so interesting. That’s because the pains and passions that Melrick holds within need to be expressed through conversations with others and in his music. The exploration of one’s family history is sometimes the key to the past, present and future. This movie ultimately is a truly notable picture that thankfully doesn’t hide behind any false idealism.

Kouté vwa doesn’t have a big budget but it has a lot of intelligence and that makes up a lot of ground for any of its shortcomings from a technical standpoint. All the images that the movie conveys tell a complex story that one will find very rewarding. There are some heartbreaking realities which can be devastating in their excesses but Kouté vwa reminds viewers of the importance of the quest for knowledge and the healing power of hope.

Rating: 8/10

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