Who by Fire

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2:23

Who by Fire

2025

2h 35m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

99%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

A getaway at a secluded log cabin in the forest becomes the site of escalating, multigenerational tensions and anxieties in this disquieting, impeccably mounted coming-of-age drama from Quebecois filmmaker Philippe Lesage (Genesis, New Directors/New Films). Ostensibly a merry reunion between well-known film director Blake Cadieux (Arieh Worthalter, 2024 César winner for Best Actor for The Goldman Case) and his longtime friend and former collaborator Albert Gary (Paul Ahmarani), the vacation gradually becomes something far more complex and less stable, especially with the combustible admixture of Albert's teen son's best friend, Jeff (Noah Parker), and Albert's self-asserting daughter Aliocha (Aurélia Arandi-Longpré). Long-simmering middle-aged resentments surface, set against the anxieties of the young, all captured sensitively by Lesage, who in recent years has proven unparalleled in evoking the psychological contours of teenagers finding their paths through treacherous emotional landscapes. Featuring thrillingly choreographed dinner sequences of mounting tension, Who by Fire confirms Lesage as a major contemporary filmmaker, with its assured tonal negotiation of the naturalistic and the oneiric, the joyous (especially an epic dance interlude to The B-52s) and the ominous.

Critics Consensus

A finely orchestrated ensemble drama, Who by Fire's richly drawn character dynamics and slow-burning psychological thrills build toward a hauntingly emotional crescendo.

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Adam Nayman

Toronto Star

06/17/2025

3/4

There’s a version of “Who by Fire” that would ask us to empathize with the character’s vulnerability and rage, but Lesage observes him with a clear and skeptical eye.

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Justin Chang

The New Yorker

03/20/2025

Despite its constricted, isolated setting, the film feels more psychologically expansive than its predecessors.

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Bilge Ebiri

New York Magazine/Vulture

03/17/2025

All of Who by Fire exists in this in-between space, which is what makes it so thrilling, so unpredictable. We keep waiting for something awful to happen. That something turns out to be life.

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Soham Gadre

Film Inquiry

04/07/2025

I only wished it did even one thing more adventurous than its countless predecessors.

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Michael Nordine

Movie Brief

03/20/2025

3/4

There’s nothing we can do to prevent that flame from igniting, try as we might from our side of the screen, and the characters’ ultimate tragedy is that there’s nothing they can do either.

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Ria Dhull

Spectrum Culture

03/20/2025

Who by Fire excels on all fronts except editing. Director Philippe Lesage’s coming-of-age story is incredibly smart, but feels like a rough cut.

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Sulis T

@RT24766384 03/26/2025

Film nya bagus banget, sangat menarik

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Ronaldi F

@RT31410641 03/19/2025

Seru banget sih filmnya well

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Randi V

@RT52633625 03/19/2025

lethargy and not nearly enough palpable dramatic tension

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Philippe Lesage

Director

Noah Parker

Jeff

Arieh Worthalter

Blake

Aurélia Arandi-Longpré

Aliocha

Paul Ahmarani

Albert

Antoine Marchand-Gagnon

Max

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Synopsis

A getaway at a secluded log cabin in the forest becomes the site of escalating, multigenerational tensions and anxieties in this disquieting, impeccably mounted coming-of-age drama from Quebecois filmmaker Philippe Lesage (Genesis, New Directors/New Films). Ostensibly a merry reunion between well-known film director Blake Cadieux (Arieh Worthalter, 2024 César winner for Best Actor for The Goldman Case) and his longtime friend and former collaborator Albert Gary (Paul Ahmarani), the vacation gradually becomes something far more complex and less stable, especially with the combustible admixture of Albert's teen son's best friend, Jeff (Noah Parker), and Albert's self-asserting daughter Aliocha (Aurélia Arandi-Longpré). Long-simmering middle-aged resentments surface, set against the anxieties of the young, all captured sensitively by Lesage, who in recent years has proven unparalleled in evoking the psychological contours of teenagers finding their paths through treacherous emotional landscapes. Featuring thrillingly choreographed dinner sequences of mounting tension, Who by Fire confirms Lesage as a major contemporary filmmaker, with its assured tonal negotiation of the naturalistic and the oneiric, the joyous (especially an epic dance interlude to The B-52s) and the ominous.

Director: Philippe Lesage
Producer: Galilé Marion-Gauvin
Screenwriter: Philippe Lesage, Philippe Lesage
Distributor: KimStim
Production Co: L'Unité Centrale, Shellac Sud
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 14, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 2h 35m

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