Sarah préfère la course (2013) Reviews

• lack of emotional acting

  SnoopyStyle2017-01-06

  Sarah Lepage is a serious competitive runner but likes little else. She is striving to get into McGill University and live in Montreal. Her mother dismisses her dream due to a lack of money. Her coworker friend Antoine Breton tells her about government grants for married couple and proposes a marriage of convenience. Eventually, she agrees but various life complications continue to intrude. The girl's biggest assets may be her big, brown eyes. She doesn't give much acting range although her character has a narrow emotional range. Her whole demeanor is a shrug of the shoulders. The film is a bit slow with some 'nothing' scenes. Even when the character is challenged with emotional minefields, she does little with it. She's almost on the spectrum. It would be more compelling if she is. This is not just being subtle. It's really flat.

• Has a lot of heart

  rls1542013-11-09

  Not that I didn't enjoy the movie - as a runner with cardiac issues I certainly could identify with Sarah. And being a bit distant and withdrawn, which Sophie Desmarais portrays admirably, seems to be a byproduct of long/middle distance runners, at least the ones who excel that I've come into contact with. It does drag on at times, and the same sex undertones are there, but never really proclaimed, as Sarah struggles with her sexual preferences. However, the film does prove one thing. If you put two opposite gender biological entities together in a cramped space, eventually they get around to it. For me, as a runner, the final scene really says it all about the need to run as an addiction almost the point of.... well, I'll leave that unsaid for the viewers to conclude. But if "Sarah Prefers to Run" she needs to lengthen her stride, because her leg action is all straight up and down.

• intriguing and subtle

  Raven-19692014-08-03

  Querencia, a Spanish term, is a place a wounded bull goes to gather strength. Sarah's querencia is in her running shoes. Her wounds, significant and debilitating money, health and relationship troubles, begin to diminish when she is running over the landscape. As her troubles mount however, it remains to be seen just how far her feet can take her. Sarah also prefers running to talking, so there isn't much dialogue in the film, yet the filmmakers deftly craft an intriguing and subtle portrait of a young woman attempting to find her way in the world while staying true to what she loves. Beyond running she is not so sure what she wants. Rilke encourages us to "be patient with all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves." Sarah does this best on her feet. Seen at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.