The Guardian World reviews Cédric Kahn’s film about a psychiatric facility for teenagers
French director Cédric Kahn made the film 15/18 A Place to Heal about a state psychiatric facility for teenagers aged 15 to 18. In its review, The Guardian World called the film a heartfelt and serious docu-realist work in which compassion is combined with detailed observation of institutional life.
Life in the facility
The film includes scenes in treatment rooms, recreation areas, bedrooms and interview rooms. Kahn himself played one of the senior medical staff members. The film also shows doctors, nurses, orderlies, therapists and an intern, who, according to the reviewer, are affected by the tension of institutional life.
The reviewer compared the director’s approach with the films The Class by Laurent Cantet, On the Adamant by Nicolas Philibert, and That Kind of Summer by Canadian director Denis Côté. The soundtrack features Henry Purcell’s Funeral Sentences, which Stanley Kubrick previously used in A Clockwork Orange.
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The relationships of three patients
At the center of the plot is a love triangle between three patients. Lucia, played by Malou Khebizi, shows interest in Enzo, played by Kenji Peyran. Enzo’s character is in custody after stabbing a social worker.
Enzo also grows close to Éloïse, played by Zoé Monpar. The reviewer describes Éloïse as a quiet girl who has experienced violence, and his relationship with her as intense but probably predatory and self-serving. The final part of the film is connected with an escape attempt that takes the action beyond the facility and gives Éloïse an important final episode.
