French Film Festival 2021: Black Box (Boîte Noire) Review

Written by Molly Magennis / @mollymag3

Black Box (Boîte Noire) is a drama/thriller written and directed by Yann Gozlan. 

This film follows Mathieu (Pierre Niney), a black box analyst, who is assigned the task of investigating the crash of a brand-new aircraft flying from Dubai and Paris. As Mathieu delves deeper into the investigation, he realises something is amiss, the answer to the crash is not as simple as everyone around him is making it out to be. 

What I loved most about this film, was the fact I’ve never seen, nor heard of, a film focusing solely on this subject matter – a black box analyst. It was so interesting and refreshing to watch a ‘plane crash’ film that focused on something a little different, something new.

Black Box really delves deep into the world of a black box analyst and what it would look like. From the way they scrutinise every second of the audio recording from the box to the importance of even the smallest change in pitch. It was amazing to see how much information Mathieu could garner from a black box recording. Whether this depiction was entirely realistic, that I’m not sure. But you can clearly tell how much time and research went into perfecting the portrayal of this job. It was just so thrilling and interesting to watch.

Black Box is filled with mystery and intrigue, it kept me guessing right through to the end of the film, which is certainly what you want in a film like this. It was well paced and extremely well-acted, Pierre Niney’s depiction of a black box analyst was so realistic it wouldn’t even shock me if I found out he was one on the side.

If you’re into thrillers and love a bit of mystery, Black Box is an excellent pick if you’re unsure what to see at this year’s French Film Festival.

To purchase tickets, visit the 2021 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival’s Website.

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