SYNONYMES

On the heels of Policeman (2011) and The Kindergarten Teacher (2014), Nadav Lapid is back with a galvanizing new thrill ride. Through the character of Yoav, a stoic young Israeli who has rejected his militaristic upbringing, Synonyms examines exile and cultural heritage with disturbing bluntness and unusual power. Alone and destitute in Paris, Yoav forms a strange friendship with a bourgeois couple. He wanders the city spewing violent rhetoric, tracked by a frenetic camera, as disillusion with his homeland turns to an embrace of a fantasy one. A semi-autobiographical story propelled by Tom Mercier’s riveting performance.