Culture
5eme Set / Final Set: an exciting and powerful film by Quentin Reynaud
Last night Vivamost was at the Gala Premiere of the 5eme Set/Final Set, a French film by director Quentin Reynaud and producer Leonard Glowinski. It was the best film we saw since the beginning of the festival.
This film is about the psychology of tennis and the personal journey of a player. The player is Thomas Edison (Alex Lutz), a 37 years old man, which career is coming to an end. He was once a great future hope but due to many injuries Thomas couldn´t achieve much. He doesn´t want to hear about retirement and refuses to say No. His wife (Ana Girardot) and mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) are still supportive but have doubts he will be able to continue. Edison wants to play one more time in Roland Garros but he doesn´t get a Wild Card, which means he will have to play the qualifications the week before the beginning of the tournament. How far will he go? His first match is against a player 20 years younger. Thomas is determined to win.
Alex Lutz playing Thomas Edison – credit ZFF
The director explained at the end of the screening that he was everywhere during the shooting, always on the court with Thomas, one meter behind him. He wanted to see, hear, smell and feel him. During the 5ieme set he changed the point of view and left the court to be part of the viewers.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: Director Quentin Reynaud attends the “5eme Set” photocall during the 16th Zurich Film Festival at Kino Corso on September 29, 2020 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images for ZFF)
The producer agreed to do the film and to take risks not only because he is a fan of tennis but because of the director´s strong passion and desire to make this film. Glowinski said he is used to making films because don´t want. He was convince it would work out with Reynaud. They sometimes disagreed but always came up to the same solutions.
Reynaud said how important a director is in the process of making a film. He is the first advisor, the one who tells you you are wrong. He stressed he needs someone to tell him No sometimes.
Trusting the people you work with said Glowinski is very important. It is a great satisfaction for him to do something and see that at the end he was right. “I hope you will see that´s the case” “you will see that is the case, he continued saying so proudly about the end result of the film.
5eme Set – Leonardo Glowinski (©Luiz Freire for Zurich Film Festival)
When asked which scenes they liked the best, Reynaud responded the scene with the press conference. He was so proud the way Alex Lutz responded and he thought his actor was handling it extremely well. At that time Reynaud was not directing anymore, but just watching and thinking “Wow!”. As for Glowinski the best exciting scene is the finale.
The finale is breath taking. You may think “Oh No”, but a few minutes later you will realize there was no other way.
We recommend this film even if you are not a tennis fan. Well done, a film to see and watch again.
Next screenings: Thu. 01. Oct. 18:30 Arena 4 & Sun. 04. Oct. 17:30 Corso 1
