The Courageous: a powerful work of social realism about a rebellious mother searching for her place in the world

The Courageous: a powerful work of social realism about a rebellious mother searching for her place in the world

The Courageous opens with dense greenery, as sunlit and idyllic as it is discouragingly impenetrable. Then, with barely the rising sound of an engine to warn us, we cut back to urban humanity: a hand slams a glove compartment shut, with the tense “merde” of a woman on edge. And so we meet the protagonists of the film: Julia, or Jule, at the wheel of the car, and her three children giggling on the back seat because mum just said a naughty word. A…

The Courageous movie review | Ophelia Kolb is sensational in deeply affecting character study

The Courageous (Les Courageux) documents a period in the life of a single mother living in a small town on the edge of dense forestry. The mother, Jule (Ophelia Kolb), is on the face of things a rebel, who refuses to conform by society’s rules. Naturally, she faces persistent backlash and cruelty from those around her as a result. However, the core of the story is not Jule’s shortcomings, but rather the lengths she is willing to go — not just to…