Crache Coeur is a niche, must-see movie. Literally meaning Spit, Heart, the film’s title recalls ‘cache coeur’, a type of jacket that protects the breast and, ultimately, our beating heart.
The nucleus of this story is the emotional birth, death and rebirth of a young couple. Their awakening is not merely sexual – they face an existential, social, interpersonal and emotional revival.
The multi-cultural setting is both French and Polish around and within the protagonist’s mind, paving the way for a multi-layered understanding of the Self and the Other. Rose, the female protagonist, is in constant conflict with her father, from whom she does not accept signs of tenderness. She is also on a quest for romantic love and is disappointed by the stultified imagination of her peers, especially Roman’s dispassion and abruptness.
Roman neglects her, yet ends up traveling with her to Poland as she helps him find his unknown father, Jozef, who was a labourer in Rose’s household.
At the story’s climax, Roman and Rose end up making love at a bus stop in Jozef’s hometown. The idyll seems to break again for Rose, as Roman utters bluntly: ‘this is my life, you aren’t part of it.’ Yet, ultimately, the dichotomy of ‘being part of’ or ‘excluded by’ doesn’t work. Back in France, Roman’s emotions open up and he grows curious of Rose, a blossomed flower in a field of bright desires.
This tender and crude storytelling draws viewers toward a balanced horizon, where the youngsters will eventually find harmony between self and other, as they spit out their definitions of love and existence.
A transcendental meaning emanates from the narrative: the soul may fuse with an infinite whole when film serves as a kaleidoscope to perceive the complexity of life.
