• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Philadelphia Film Society

See something you'll never forget

  • Now Showing
  • Programs
    • Film Series
    • Education & Community
    • PFS On Us
    • Signature Events
  • Film Festival
    • 32nd Philadelphia Film Festival
    • Submissions
    • Past Film Festivals
  • Support Us
    • Become A Member
    • Individual Giving
    • Sponsorship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer
  • Venues
    • PFS Bourse Theater
    • PFS East Theater
    • Philadelphia Film Center
    • Rent Our Venues
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • News & Stories
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Join
  • Donate

HEAL THE LIVING

HEAL THE LIVING

(REPARER LES VIVANTS)

KATELL QUILLEVERE | FRANCE | 2016 | 104 MIN

Sprawling ensemble drama Heal the Living features some of France’s best actors (including The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’s Emmanuelle Seigner and Mommy’s Anne Dorval), yet the true star of this consistently surprising film isn’t a recognizable actor—It’s a human heart. That heart belongs to Simon, a 17-year-old boy left brain dead after an accident early in the film. What follows is an examination of the way this tragic event ripples across the lives of various other characters: Simon’s grief-stricken parents, the doctors and nurses at the hospital, and finally Claire (Dorval), a middle-aged woman in dire need of a heart transplant but torn by the idea that a young boy’s death might mean her only hope for survival. Director Katell Quillévére approaches this potentially heavy material with a subtle touch, and the resulting film is visually striking, genuinely moving, and profoundly insightful about the way moments of beauty and quiet grace occur even amidst tragedy. For a film that starts with a death, what’s most striking about Heal the Living is how vividly it captures the bittersweet chaos of being alive.

Cast: Anne Dorval, Tahar Rahim, Emmanuelle Seigner, Bouli Lanners

 

Join our mailing list
Copyright ©2023 Philadelphia Film Society, Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 23-3077468
Administrative Offices 1412 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19102 267-239-2941
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Now Showing
  • Twitter.com/PhillyFilmSoc
  • Instagram.com/phillyfilmsociety/
  • Facebook.com/PhilaFilmSociety