"Twelve Thousand" -- Movie Review

On the final weekend of the New Directors/New Films festival, there was a streaming of the new French drama “Twelve Thousand”. 

Synopsis

When a couple find themselves strapped for cash once one of them is out of work, they agree he will take a job far away in order to earn 12,000 euros and return to her immediately after the money is made – but will the relationship hold up despite the time and geographic distance?

Story

When Frank (Arieh Worthalter) loses his job at the junkyard, he has to rush home to tell his girlfriend Maroussia (Nadège Trebal) so they can start planning their next steps.  They are not a couple of means – in the cramped apartment where they live, they share it with an older woman; this small space is rather crowded because the couple’s daughter lives there along with their dog.  As if they weren’t already sufficiently in close quarters, Maroussia is earning extra money by being a foster parent to several babies who stay with them.  Nevertheless, Frank and Maroussia always manage to find the time to enjoy an extremely active sex life.

The couple make a pact:  if Frank winds up taking a job that requires him to work out of town, he will only work there long enough to earn 12,000 euros (the amount Maroussia earns watching the children).  Maroussia insists on this because she’s concerned that if Frank stays away indefinitely, he will likely find someone else and leave her.  Frank sets out looking for work and winds up getting a job cleaning out oil tanks at a refinery quite a distance from where he and Maroussia live.  However, Frank’s not there for very long when he learns that he’s just been laid off – particularly bad news because he’s nowhere near the 12,000 euros he was hoping to earn.

One night, Frank sneaks into a yard where shipping containers are stored; his plan is to steal the merchandise in the containers and sell them with the expectation that he can eventually make the 12,000 euros.  Instead, the opportunity presents itself for him to pose as a security guard at this yard; Frank quickly realizes that he can make his money more quickly if he “sells” the rights to steal the merchandise to a group of young jobless women in the town.  It turns out to be a lucrative proposition and eventually, Frank returns to Maroussia, bringing her a surprise – but when she finds the surprise to be none too pleasant, will she remain with Frank or kick him out? 

Review

Despite its quirkiness (and as a French film, by definition it must be quirky), “12,000” is a rather pleasantly enjoyable experience.  Particularly noteworthy here is the performance by Arieh Worthalter as Frank who is a real standout as this especially roguish character.  Additionally, both the screenplay and direction by Nadège Trebal are exceptional.  Considering that her experience is somewhat limited when it comes to full-length feature films (although she’s got more writing credits than directing credits), this movie is quite a remarkable accomplishment on her part.  Trebal has a talent for writing dialog and her shot choices suggest a more seasoned auteur.   

In a daring scene early in “12,000”, Frank and Maroussia have sex and it’s fairly explicit.  Given the fact that Trebal is writer/director/actress here, it’s a bit surprising that she would go that far.  This is neither a criticism nor intended to discourage her, merely an observation since she’s nascent in her career as a dramatic filmmaker.  As an actress, your eye is drawn to her in nearly every scene in which she appears; this is quite the accomplishment because she’s able to hold her own in the scenes with Worthalter.  If Trebal continues to make full-length films, hopefully she will cast herself in them (ideally, in a larger role).    

Following the movie, there was a stream of an interview with writer/director/actress Nadège Trebal, which was conducted through a translator.  Trebal said that she was inspired to write this screenplay after working on her previous documentaries.  Those stories heightened her awareness of an economic war and class struggle in modern society.  In the documentaries, Trebal shot at an oil refinery and junkyard and she spent a considerable amount of time with the men who worked there.  Doing so put into perspective the life of displaced men who were forced to work far from home and found themselves exploited by a system that unfairly favored the employers over the working class.