Coma

3/28/2025

**A Second Encounter as an Inner Explosion** > By Carwan Dourandich Originally published in Etemaad Newspaper, Issue 5520 At first glance, Coma presents itself as a gift from the COVID-19 pandemic. The film opens with on-screen text from director Bertrand Bonello, confirming this premise while also referencing Nocturama (2016), his previous work, which shares thematic connections with Coma, particularly regarding the concept of rebirth. Similarly, the closing moments of the film feature text reflecting on transitioning through an in-between state - between life and death, between day and night - culminating in a message of "hope, even in the darkest nights," accompanied by haunting images of environmental destruction. Patricia Coma, the film's central figure, acts as a guide for a

12/14/2025

The title has quite an intriguing double meaning here as an unnamed and typical young girl (Louise Labèque) finds herself confined to her bedroom - think COVID lockdown - with only her online community to sustain her. Most popular amongst the influencers is a woman called “Coma” (Julia Faure) who induces something akin to her name in the young woman as she gradually becomes indoctrinated into a culture that falls half way between dream and nightmare. She is soon struggling to distinguish between reality and fantasy thanks to the “Revealer” - a sort of psychological version of a replicator, with elements of hypnotism thrown in too. As her involuntary detention continues, we begin to wonder what might be left of the real girl at the end. This is quite a potent critique on modern day isolatio