Nord

Despite an (acknowledged) debt to the films of Maurice Pialat, this feature debut by Xavier Beauvois is a pretty distinctive achievement, not only for the authenticity of its observations (it's set in Calais, where the writer/director/ lead actor grew up), but for the raw honesty of its emotional content. At first you think it's Beauvois, as the teenager bored out his box by provincial life, who's on the slippery slope; then it transpires it's his pharmacist dad (Verley) who's into substance abuse; then mum (Ogier), hitherto apparently the voice of reason, gets in on the dysfunctional act. Aided by superb performances, Beauvois shows us the potential (and all too common) horrors of everyday family life without moralising or sensationalism; as in his even more ambitious follow-up (Don't Forget You're Going to Die), there's real depth, insight and truth here.