SILVER

[VINGT DIEUX]
In France’s eastern farming region of Jura, 18-year-old Totone (Clément Favreau) becomes the man of the house after his father suddenly dies. The boyish and rascally Totone is not yet ready for the responsibilities of both running the family farm and raising his young sister, but he dreams of making a big score by winning the regional competition for producing Comté cheese. To do so, he and his pals steal high-quality milk from a neighboring farm, where some local lads Totone has a beef with work. But unexpectedly, Totone meets and falls for Marie-Lise (Maïwène Barthelemy), the young woman who owns the farm. Like Totone, Marie-Lise has had responsibility fall to her at a young age, although she is much more up to the task. Practical and straightforward in her work, Marie-Lise takes a similar approach to romantic matters with the inexperienced Totone. First-time feature writer/director Louise Courvoisier grew up in the Jura region and searched local fairs and stock car races to find the winning, authentic cast of first-time actors. The film won the Youth Prize from the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. –Todd Hitchcock

Official Selection, 2024 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Louise Courvoisier; SCR Théo Abadie; PROD Muriel Meynard. France, 2024, color, 90 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED