
Cannes 2015: Marguerite and Julian's a tale of incest, without erotica
Valerie Donzelli's fourth feature, Marguerite and Julian, part of the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, talks about forbidden love -- between a brother and sister, and interestingly it is based on a script which Francois Truffaut abandoned. The incestuous affair takes place in France, in an aristocratic family in the seventh century.
Though mounted splendidly, some modern-day inserts like helicopters and transistor radios are confusing! Does Donzelli imply that incest still happens through these contemporary gadgets?
The captions in the beginning tell us that the movie is based on a true story, and we first meet the siblings when they are kids. Their uncle is quick to notice a strong attachment between the two, and prevails upon the children's father to send Julian away to a boarding school and later to self-improvement courses in Europe. But when Julian returns as a young man (Jeremie Elkaim), Marguerite (Anais Demoustier) finds that she is still sexually attracted to him.
Marguerite is married off to a rich tax collector, an event that forces her and Julian to make a desperate bid to escape to England. The end may horrify many of us, but then remember it was the 7th century when incest was considered by the church and others as a heinous sin.
Donzelli scripts a narrative that tries to tell how incest affects a rich family -- though she helms the film without the least trace of prurience in it. Therein lies the beauty of Marguerite and Julian.
(Gautaman Bhaskaran is covering the Cannes Film Festival for the 26th year.)

Delhi air in toxic zone, could get worse today

Ninth round of farm talks inconclusive

Kerala earmarks fund for mental health

Ex-CM accuses ruling Meghalaya govt of encouraging illegal coal mining
- Sangma said the mineral, weighing truckloads, which were dumped in a scattered manner, were being tallied.

Smuggled Nepalese cigarette brand dominates border areas of Uttarakhand
- ‘Khukuri’ a brand of Nepalese cigarette has captured the market in the border areas of US Nagar, Champawat and Pithoragarh. Over 90% of smokers prefer to purchase and smoke this not due to taste but its cheap prices, said an official.

Assam village sets example, holds fake buffalo fight to uphold SC ban
- In 2016, the Supreme Court had placed a ban on animal fights during religious and cultural festivals.

After protests, Goa CM announces relocation of IIT project from Melaulim

CBI ‘bribe-for-relief’ racket was running since 2018, finds probe

Construction work on New Parliament begins

Mumbai logs AQI of 190, breathes cleanest air so far this year
- Air quality had remained in the poor to very poor category since the beginning of January owing to low temperatures. On January 8, the AQI was the worst at 317 (very poor) for this year.

TMC MP Satabdi Roy voices dissent, Abhishek Banerjee steps in to solve crisis
- For the first time, TMC’s youth unit president and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee stepped in to solve the crisis. He sent party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh to bring Roy to his office on Camac Street in south Kolkata and held a two-hour meeting on Friday.

Woman sanitation worker to get first vaccine jab in Chhattisgarh

Is Covid-19 vaccine mandatory?: All your FAQs about vaccination drive answered

Bengal BJP leaders meet Amit Shah in Delhi, discuss poll preparedness
- To meet Shah’s target of winning more than 200 of Bengal’s 294 assembly seats in 2021, the BJP has put together its biggest election machinery in the eastern state.

Ladakh soldiers among first set of army personnel to get Covid-19 vaccine
- More than 12,000 doses of the vaccine have reached Ladakh of which around 4,000 have been earmarked for armed forces personnel to protect them from Covid-19, the officials said speaking on condition of anonymity.