Give Me Your Hand (2008)
Donne-moi la main (original title)
Give Me Your Hand (French: Donne-moi la main) is a 2008 French-German drama film directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent. The soundtrack was composed by electronic/post rock band Tarwater.
By ROD ARMSTRONG
Exploring the conflict and camaraderie between twin brothers, Pascal-Alex Vincent crafts an elliptical, sexy and beautifully shot debut film. Antoine (Alexandre Carril) and Quentin (Victor Carril) are magnetic yet insular siblings who hit the road from France to Spain for their mother’s funeral. Little about their past is revealed; these are boys who live almost exclusively in and for the present.
Of course, there are differences between them — Antoine is more garrulous and has a fetching scar above his left eye while Quentin is taciturn and spends much of his time drawing. Various glances and actions by both hint at jealousies, rivalries and perhaps unacknowledged attraction in their relationship, but they seem mostly content in each other’s presence.
To quench their bursting libidos, there are a couple of no-strings-attached sexual encounters, but the event that creates a potentially irrevocable rift occurs during a brief stint on a farm when Quentin has a tryst with a handsome male migrant worker. A subsequent betrayal by Antoine leads to their separation as the film builds to the subtly delineated moment when the twins find each other again, renegotiate their relationship and begin to consider their futures.
Give Me Your Hand is almost entirely shot out of doors, and Vincent depicts a nearly feral quality to the brothers’ actions and activities. What results is something expressionistic rather than character-driven, sensual in all senses of the word, and almost mythic in scope.
