directed by Laura Wandel/
During his rehabilitation, a war photographer is apprehensive of the look of other people on him and the proximity of his body. The physiotherapist who is helping him will try to restore his ability to watch the world around him differently.
“When I get an idea for writing a script, I’m still uncertain of what the specific subject or the theme of the script I am writing will be, so I start writing blind. When I started the script for Les Corps Étrangers, I knew I wanted to write something about a war photographer and the idea of having a hard time fitting back into society when they get home. I started to explore the theme of people looking at things, and I thought it would be interesting to see the photographer cast on the other side of the photography, so being himself injured with people looking at him rather than him as a photographer looking at people and making a career out of it. Ultimately it was the theme of observing and being observed, and I wanted to explore the idea of someone being different in a society where appearance is so important. I noticed after I researched the sub- ject further that the rehabilitation of an amputee is a way of learning to face other people. It’s something that they do to psychologically accept their situation.”
– Laura Wandel, director of Les Corps Éstrangers