A film that gets great mileage from its atmosphere and understated performances, even if its artsy flourishes keep it from appealing to wider audiences.

Angel (Un Ange) is a 2018 film by Belgian director Koen Mortier that is getting a limited US theatrical release, plus streaming as of today, June 25th. It did well at festivals and there is definitely an audience for it – could that be you?

We start with a beautiful Senegalese woman – she is a sex worker, but she has her own sense of pride and dignity, which is why she refuses to register with the government – any benefits, she feels, are outweighed by a scarlet letter – or scarlet certificate.

At the same time, a Belgian pro-cyclists who is a genuine celebrity in that part of the world where cyclists are rock stars, has had a bad crash that has set him back, and apparently he also has a bit of a drug habit. Not just performance enhancing drugs, either.

The cyclist, Thierry (French actor Vincent Rottiers) and his brother head for Senegal to blow off some steam, have some drinks, maybe meet some ladies.

And here the film cuts back and forth between Thierry’s relatively short journey to West Africa, and Fae (Fatou N’Diaye) who will meet him that night in a restaurant – possibly his last night on earth. The two leads have charisma for days and it never hurts to have sexy people in a story like this- so we are all in at this point.

Upon that fateful meeting – and I’m intentionally saying “fate” here- they seem to fall instantly in love. Over the course of the evening (the film takes place over less than 24 hours) they will do some soul-bearing, they’ll make completely unrealistic plans for the future, as new lovers do, and they will have high highs and low lows. There will be timeline changes and scenes that turn out to be dreams.

I liked this film pretty well, but you kinda have to know what type of viewer you are going in. 

This is an art house release in every sense of the term – it is not neat and tidy. It asks you to accept its premise, which doesn’t seem entirely plausible, in terms of how instantly these two connect. And it’s in French with subtitles (the only way to see a foreign film).

What we have here, as Shakespeare said, is “a pair of star-crossed lovers.” It’s a premise that has lasted for centuries – this is a new spin, of sorts.

Angel, aka: Un Ange | Now streaming and in limited theatrical release| 3 out of 4 stars