In The Price War, Anthony Déchaux delves into the opaque negotiations between producers and large retailers. A first film that portrays this economic war like a thriller and reveals the invisible power dynamics hidden behind the price of our food.
Behind every price displayed in a supermarket lies a negotiation. And behind some negotiations, a real war. It’s this silent conflict, almost latent, that is staged in The Price War, the first film by Anthony Déchaux.
At the center of the story is Audrey, played by Ana Girardot, whose restrained and precise performance hints at the internal conflicts of a farmer’s daughter turned department manager in a provincial hypermarket. Placed in the purchasing center of her store to defend a local and organic sector, she discovers a world where negotiation seems more like a duel than a dialogue. Between two worlds, Audrey embodies this divide: determined to break free from the family farm without denying her roots, she attempts a paradoxical gamble – adopting the codes of large retail to better defend farmers.
For his first film, Anthony Déchaux visually contrasts two worlds. On one side, the family farm, its damp landscapes, and essential gestures that structure the day. On the other, the cold verticality of Derval’s retail chain purchasing center: a sanitized urban world where everything seems designed to neutralize emotions. Tension rises during the negotiations, and the film gradually takes on the appearance of a thriller. Discussions become face-to-face encounters where everything is at stake in silences, looks, and strategies.
Gradually, a system emerges that traps everyone in their roles. Even in the agricultural world, taking over the family farm is not always a choice: it’s often a loyalty to a story, sometimes a burden to carry.
Opposite Audrey, the excellent actor Olivier Gourmet plays Bruno Fournier, a formidable negotiator whose presence immediately establishes the power dynamic. “Olivier has a face, a presence, an aura that immediately conveys something, even when he says nothing,” explains the director.
The Price War reveals a promising filmmaker. Anthony Déchaux doesn’t just make another film about the agricultural world: he captures, with almost discreet attention, those moments when social roles crack. A shared coffee at the farm, a few exchanged glances, and suddenly a businessman thought to be impervious reveals what he had buried for a long time. Simple, almost mundane scenes that convey a lot and hint at a very sharp filmmaker’s eye.
The Price War by Anthony Déchaux with Ana Girardot, Olivier Gourmet, Julien Frison Cinema release: March 18, 2025
