EDEN World Cinema

It’s no accident that Mia Hansen-Løve’s 20-year journey through the electronic dance music scene opens with an early ’90s rave that’s already over. As Parisian teenager and future DJ Paul (Félix de Givry) approaches the turntables to ask about a song, the empty dance floor he crosses is a subtle but clear message: All parties end. But the intoxicating allure of soul-inflected garage music, crowded clubs, euphoric sing-alongs, electrifying night life and brushes with fame (two of Paul’s friends form their own electronic duo: Daft Punk) keep Paul moving to the same beat for years after his audience has moved on. Co-written with and based on the experiences of Hansen-Løve’s brother, Sven, EDEN captures the roots and far-reaching influence of a cultural phenomenon while sensitively portraying the life of one of its not-quite-success stories. This is a film at once epic in scope and intensely intimate in its observations.