Icarus Films: A Violent Life

A Violent Life

From The Distrib Films Collection

Directed by Thierry de Peretti

107 minutes / Color
French / English subtitles
Release: 2018
Copyright: 2017

A VIOLENT LIFE focuses on the violent nationalist struggles that plagued director Thierry de Peretti’s native land Corsica in the 1990s. Stéphane (Jean Michelangeli) moves to Paris to flee his past. The death of a former comrade brings back memories of his transformation from a middle-class youth with conventional aspirations to a radicalized activist with dangerous ties. Stéphane returns to Corsica for his friend’s funeral, knowing that this trip could cost him his life.

Set in the unique social and cultural climate of Corsica, and in the tradition of GOMORRA and THE GODFATHER, A VIOLENT LIFE is a chilling portrait of a young man’s violent rise and fall.

"A complex, intense and physical tale of crime and punishment." —Variety

"De Peretti certainly deserves credit for bringing so much local flavor to the table, capturing the essence of a place that, while technically part of France and only a 90-minute flight from Paris, often feels like a distant land." —Hollywood Reporter

"Powerful sense of place, aided by fine period details and an ever-simmering sense of dread." —Screen Daily