Céline Roustan
All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. I don’t remember much from philosophy class, but the lesson about syllogisms definitely made an impact. In Donc, Socrate est mortel (Therefore, Socrates Is Mortal), writer/director Alexandre Isabelle cleverly builds a narrative around the famous sophism, mixing in important and topical themes through Louise’s story – a philosophy teacher by day, a climate activist after school!
When I first watched Therefore, Socrates Is Mortal, I was instantly struck by the intelligence of the screenplay, which never feels educational nor elitist. The syllogism deeply amused me, but it’s when I started seeing all the other pieces of the story, and how they all came together, that I truly grasped the depth of what Isabelle conveys in his 13-minute film. In addition to being a filmmaker, Isabelle is a philosophy teacher and even though I knew that upon first watching his short, I was still curious to ask how this film came to be, given how layered the screenplay is.
“I’ve experienced the radical incompatibility between the rise of school clientelism and the urgent necessity to change our system to answer important issues such as global warming”, he shared with us. Linking his main character Louise to himself might be too easy of a shortcut, but while the film is intentionally satirical, the authenticity of Isabelle’s experience grounds the film making it all the more effective. As a true philosophy teacher, he wanted to “oppose Louise to her own values” by crafting a situation where she would have to face the consequences of her own actions, which in turn would subsequently test her will to take action.
Ève Landry as Louise, a philosophy teacher inspired to run her words into action.
Isabelle likes to say that his films are envisioned like aphorisms, paired with the syllogism it stems from, the three act structure appears to be the best way to shape the film for its philosophical aspect, just as much as the comedic one. And the film plays expertly in those two ranges, thanks to Isabelle’s sharp editing. This duality is present throughout the film and is very consciously crafted by Isabelle, who wished to make the film accessible, while also giving Easter eggs to philosophy aficionados.
Louise is the kind of philosophy teacher I wish I got to have, as she is not only someone you like, but someone you want to look up to. Because of that, as a viewer we are engaged in her predicament, while also being entertained by the witty and sharp sense of humor of the screenplay. As she starts questioning herself, Isabelle subtly, once more, gently guides us to our own existential crisis, provoking a reflection on our own will to go from words to actions.
Therefore, Socrates Is Mortal hit the festival circuit back in 2021 with notable stops at Regard, the Aspen ShortsFest or the Palm Springs ShortFest. On this World Philosophy Day, we figured what better way to celebrate than with a film that subtly sneaks in a philosophy lesson under its fun and entertaining demeanor, it almost makes you want to go back to school… well if Isabelle is the one teaching.