Written and directed by Vincent René-Lortie, Invincible is a thirty-minute short film based around Marc-Antoine Bernier (Leokim Beaumier-Lepine), a childhood friend of René-Lortie’s. The events of the film attempt to recount and expand upon forty eight hours in the life of the fourteen year-old as he spends time with his family, interacts with his peers outside of home and ultimately makes a decision that will change his life and the lives of those around him – permanently.
The depiction of mental health on film has been highly contested and is incredibly difficult to execute. Too often there is a correlation-causation paradigm that filmmakers can feel trapped by, which can make the portrayal of individuals with mental illness come across as “bad” or “evil”. Taking a completely different approach, René-Lortie embraces the mysteries that are never solved throughout the course of the film. The audience never learns why Bernier was taken to a youth home, what causes his intense inner turmoil and why, ultimately, he makes the decision he makes. Some of these choices feel constructive; René-Lortie’s choice to focus on kinder moments, such as Bernier helping a new member of the youth home plant a tomato, or his affection for his younger sister (Elia St-Pierre) really encourages a more empathetic look at the troubled young man, which is only helped by a sturdy performance from Beaumier-Lepine. A standout scene from the film shows an ant creeping its way across a bagged sandwich, while a bee sits restlessly on a windowsill. Most people’s first instinct might be to squash the creatures. Instead, Bernier simply watches the ant, and stands up to take the bee in his palm, observing it. It is clear that the boy’s sympathies fall towards these insects who, often viewed merely as nuisances, have their place in the world.
Visually, the film’s sweeping landscapes and intimate close ups really emphasize the lack of physical or environmental entrapment Bernier feels at the lake compared to the intense suppression and caging the youth home evokes. This choice adds even more confusion to the mysteries behind Bernier’s ultimate choice. It is clear he seeks freedom, but it is unclear at times what that means to him. Additionally, the choice to focus on the consolidated time period of forty eight hours was a wise one; the shortened period of time spent with Bernier makes it even more difficult to understand his emotional life. Instead of placing the audience in Bernier’s head, René-Lortie focuses on the events of his life, which, isolated from a comprehensive look at Bernier’s mindset, makes the tragedy even more difficult to understand. Perhaps, though, understanding is not the ultimate goal; in this case, the effort from René-Lortie is commendable.
Beautifully shot (Alexandre Nour Desjardins) and well-acted, Invincible approaches the story of Marc-Antoine Bernier with tender hands. Having spent time reconnecting with Bernier’s friends and family, one must applaud René-Lortie for his refusal to provide a definitive answer to a question he appears to not have an answer to. His focus on building a reservoir of empathy in his audience makes Invincible an intriguing story of mental health in young people.
