Les Arcs European Film Festival continues its focus on German cinema with 4 Kings (4 Könige in German). This drama takes place during the Christmas period, it tells the story of 4 teenagers having to spend the holidays in a psychiatric clinic. They must then face their neuroses as well as their past… With its intimate realization and its strong subject, 4 Kings stands out as an uncompromising and particularly touching work. Focus!
A saving intimacy taken to the extreme
4 Kings has an impact because of the proximity it establishes with its characters. If we are far from the close-ups established in Just the End of the World (Xavier Dolan), the rapprochement with the protagonists allows us an attachment as sudden as sincere. This closeness allows us to feel the complex emotions of these teenagers, even when we do not understand the reasons for their nervousness. A certain sensory aspect emerges from the staging, as the proximity with the characters is established when they are on edge. These four teenagers are particularly endearing, despite (or thanks) to their heightened sensitivity.
This intimacy is also felt in the spontaneity of the dialogues and reactions. The interactions between each character establish a real proximity between them. This proximity is also established between the protagonists and the spectator, although the spectator is not directly targeted by the interactions. It's easy to put yourself in the shoes of each character, whether it's Dr. Wolf, or the teenagers in internment. Even if we have not necessarily experienced their difficulties, empathy comes quite naturally vis-à-vis their problems. Moreover, it is interesting to note that each teenager faces very different difficulties. This makes it possible to "cast a wide net" concerning the experience of the spectators because statistically, each of them will probably have experienced one of the problems denounced, even if it is in a smaller proportion than that of our four protagonists.
An underlying denunciation of the psychiatric system
Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the film, it stands out as a real denunciation of the psychiatric rehabilitation system. However, this is not done in a Manichean or caricatured way. Indeed, the lead psychiatrist (wonderfully played by Clemens Schick) is genuinely eager to help these teenagers, including the most brutal of them (wonderfully interpreted as well). However, his efforts and diplomacy were undermined not by his patients, but by the administration managing the institution.
The film denounces an administration as erratic as it is closed-minded, whose only small comfort of the workplace counts, regardless of whether teenagers progress or not. This denunciation is not only subtle, but it has the merit of being universal. It must be remembered that in far too many parts of the world, the care and reintegration of the most disturbed elements of our society is not a priority. We prefer to let them get bogged down in their psychoses, rather than look for the cause of them. Moreover, this applies equally well in the psychiatric system, in the prison environment or in specialized schools… Fortunately, there are still many people willing to sacrifice everything to help these people reintegrate. If the film denounces all these ubiquitous flaws in our system, Dr. Wolf remains presented as the figure of the psychiatrist but also that of the mentor, ready to give his confidence to his patients, despite all their weaknesses. Hope is not lost for these teenagers.
Intimate, committed, touching and wonderfully interpreted, 4 Kings is a little nugget to discover urgently. Its universal theme makes it a work that very easily leaves the German borders. Enough to make German cinema want to be a little more represented internationally!
