“Don’t Leave Me” (Ne me quitte pas) is a Belgium documentary by Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevordeh. It was shown as part of the Competition Series at the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival.
The film follows Marcel and Bob, two lifelong friends who share an affinity for booze. After his wife leaves him, Marcel falls into a deep depression and drinks away his sorrows with endless glasses of rum and red wine. His “cowboy” mate Bob, also an alcoholic, takes care of Marcel in his rough patch. The two spend countless hours in Bob’s living room drinking, laughing, and talking about how they’re going to poetically kill themselves together.
It’s hard to look at “Don’t Leave Me” as a documentary. It’s so hilariously raw and terribly sad at the same time, and really paints a portrait of the life-destroying disease that is alcoholism. It’s sad to think of people who live with this; that they’re lives crumble because of it.
The film has a slow start, especially for me, who foolishly went to see it at 9:45 at night. But with the beautiful development of Marcel and Bob’s friendship, I was able to fall in love with the story, and the men themselves. The minimalist quality of their lifestyles makes this story so touching, yet different than anything I have ever seen. It’s also difficult as a French-speaker, to handle the constant language switches between Flemish and French. Their accents are so thick, that subtitles are necessary.
After Marcel checks out of rehab, he slowly falls back into his old habits. The clever use of Roxette’s “Listen to Your Heart” creates an ironic context around Marcel’s downward spiral towards the end of the film. The ending scene shows Marcel drunkenly weaving back and forth on a snowy road on his motor scooter while “Listen to Your Heart” plays. I couldn’t help but cry.
For anyone whose life has been touched by depression or alcoholism, I recommend seeing “Don’t Leave Me.” It’s a beautiful portrayal of friendship and loss of direction.