Tandem, 2016

Justine Pluvinage doesn’t reveal any secrets or extract any confessions. She doesn’t seek to expose the deep, hidden truths of the people she observes. After all, we’re just filming stories.

When the director decides to shoot, the screenplay is already written. She then sets out to bring to life the story of Coralie and Mourad, her neighbors. Their love story: a story they’ve mastered, one they’ve often reenacted and rewritten over time. The timeline has been revised, cuts have been made, every moment of hesitation has been lived through, and the twists and turns have been chosen—by them, naturally, over the years. All our love stories are works of fiction.

To all of us who are storytellers of love, Justine Pluvinage offers, simply and lightly, the technical trappings of fiction. Rear tracking shots, voice-overs, and the grain of the image envelop the narrative, helping to suggest that every story, upon closer inspection, is worthy of the best romantic comedies. 
The blurring of the line between documentary and fiction permeates the artist’s work. In each of her films, stories intertwine, refusing to unravel, and one never knows what is real—a reality itself woven from a multitude of reassembled fictions. 

↘︎ Text by Samy Lagrange, researcher, art critic, and independent curator; member of the Jeunes Critiques d’Art collective