Heading South - Vers le sud (2005)

Directed by Laurent Cantet

Starring Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Louise Portal, Mnothy Cesar

A rather subdued and sombre romantic tragedy revolving around middle-aged women from the U.S. taking long breaks in Haiti to get a little attention and excitement from the young bucks there. 

Not ignorant of but definitely ignoring the poverty and pain of the Haitians the ladies, all well into their forties and fifties reside in a tropical paradise where every whim is attended to with the utmost politeness. Smiles and good manners hide the deep resentment and for some, shame felt at selling out to the Yankee dollar while their own people suffer under the regime of "Baby Doc".

No problem then, these pampered, rich but emotionally and sexually starved women pretend they're in some form of Garden of Delights, the young local men are more than happy to provide the attention and sexual favours knowing they will be well rewarded for their ministrations and exertions.

Problems arise though when two of the ladies start a psychological tug of war for one of the boys, 18 year old Legba. Ellen has spent several months at the resort for the last six years and is seen as being akin to the queen, usually getting everything she wants. The pretender, Brenda who visited the Island three years previously with her then husband lays claim to Legba because during that first trip, she had taken advantage of him at the tender age of 15, in return she had her first orgasm at the age of 45.

Brenda openly professes her affection; Ellen condemns her for believing she could be in love with the boy while secretly hiding her own deep affections.

Legba on the other hand is starting to feel the strain of years of being just a plaything, sure the rewards are good but the building tension between the rivals for his affections plus trouble brewing with his friends and family all add to his growing resentment. On an island where a little trouble can lead to your permanent disappearance, it can be a strain just to survive and sure enough, trouble eventually catches up with Legba.

The performances are all very good as you would expect from the older cast, theres also a great first time showing from Mnothy Cesar as Legba. The tension and poverty of the locals is well represented as is the brutality of the police, placing small minded thugs in positions of minor power is a great way of keeping people subdued and under control. 

The way the women use the local boys seems almost acceptable, yet if the position was reversed, middle aged men with young girls it would rightly cause an outcry, though of course unfortunately it does happen in a few parts of the world. 

Although the film doesn't cover the political climate to any major degree, that isn't really its intention anyway. It does convey a sense of reality that is full of subdued emotional strain and tension.

A decent romantic tragedy with a strong cast and a sense of melancholy that ably captures a moment and place in time without any overwrought Hollywood histrionics.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 15

R2 dvd released by Soda Pictures