Even though people are enjoying the cool air from their air conditioners, many hardly reflect on what global warming is doing to the environment. Just Philippot’s Acide paints a grim picture of a future where rain becomes deadly, turning acidic and destroying everything it touches.
Heat waves worsen due to increased global temperatures, and this leads to chemical reactions that bring acid rain. While the climate theme holds strong potential, Acide is held back by weak writing that makes its message less impactful.
Acid falling from the sky transforms survival into a daily battle (Photo: Bonne Pioche, Pathé Films, France 3 Cinéma, Umedia, and Caneo Films)What happens in the movie?
At the centre of the story is Michal, who is seen leading a protest by workers demanding justice for their colleague Karin. Trouble starts when the company decides to bring in the police. A fierce clash breaks out between the protesters and riot officers, and Michal ends up nearly killing one of them.
Due to this, he is placed on probation and reconnects with his partner Karin, who is still healing and awaiting another surgery. The story doesn’t explain clearly what exactly happened to Karin, one of many gaps that appear throughout the film. Michal makes up his mind to join Karin in Belgium after his probation is over.
Meanwhile, his wife Elise and daughter Selma are struggling to keep things together without him. A video of Michal beating the officer spreads quickly online. Selma faces embarrassment at school because of it, as her classmates mock her. In her frustration, she fights a fellow student and forces her to eat horse droppings.
Elise steps in to manage the situation, but Selma seems to lean more towards her father emotionally. Michal cares for Selma, but he’s focused on starting a new life with Karin. The movie introduces the topic of acid rain through some poorly edited news segments, forcing the idea onto viewers.
Michal and Elise end up in a rush to save Selma from school as the acid rain begins. Once the rain starts falling, it burns anything it touches. From that point on, the movie focuses on Michal doing all he can to protect his family from the deadly rainfall.
How does Elise die?
As Michal drives through the storm, they find a brief window of calm after the rain slows down. They take shelter inside a deserted building where signs of a recently abandoned birthday party are still visible. Michal discovers food and drinks in the fridge, which shows the residents left in a hurry.
He tries to find drinkable water and tests it by offering it to a stray cat. Selma, worried, quickly stops the cat from drinking it. Moments later, Michal sees that the container has melted at the bottom and quietly disposes of it without letting Selma notice.
Elise speaks to her brother Brice on the phone, asking where they should meet. Michal feels annoyed by how much she relies on Brice. They choose to rest the night by sleeping under a table, but Selma wakes up and discovers the dead cat, likely poisoned by the acidic water.
The following day, they continue their journey on foot because the rain has destroyed their car. Along the road, they join a crowd of people all heading to find shelter. The group approaches a fragile bridge where the army is carefully letting people cross one by one to avoid too much weight.
Though the rules are in place, panic spreads among the people, and pushing begins. During the chaos, Elise is pulled away from Michal and Selma. She tries to cross the bridge alone, but it begins to give way. She falls into the river below.
Selma rushes forward but can only watch as her mother’s skin and hair start to peel off from the acid in the water. Michal holds Selma back, and Elise dies painfully within seconds.
Why does Michal plan on going to Anvers?
Once Elise is gone, Michal and Selma board a military convoy along with other survivors. Michal had earlier learned that Karin had been moved to a hospital in Anvers. Even though Selma is not pleased about heading in that direction instead of meeting her uncle Brice, Michal insists on seeing Karin.
But the convoy breaks down on the way, and the soldiers instruct everyone to continue walking. They are told the Fernelmont shelter is only two miles away, but Michal suspects the soldiers are just sending them to their deaths. Selma has a breakdown and refuses to move further, but Michal convinces her to go on.
By then, they’ve been separated from the rest of the group. As storm clouds gather, father and daughter run in desperation, seeking shelter. They find safety in a tunnel and watch the toxic rain pour. Once the rain stops, they move towards a residential area and knock on abandoned doors, hoping someone will help.
Exhausted, Michal collapses. Selma’s cries draw the attention of a woman inside one of the houses.
Why does Michal leave Deborah and her son to die?
Michal eventually wakes up and is offered clean water by Selma. They are now guests in Deborah’s house — a woman who has stayed behind while her neighbours ran from the dangers outside. Her son, William, has kidney problems and relies on a dialysis machine powered by electricity.
Deborah tells Michal they can stay, but she warns him there’s not much food, as she’s barely surviving with her son. Michal decides to break into nearby houses to search for supplies. He brings back some canned ravioli but doesn’t share it with Deborah and William, even though William asks why he’s not allowed any.
Even though Deborah opened her door to him, Michal still holds resentment and refuses to be generous. At night, Deborah and William sleep in the basement, while Michal and Selma rest in the garage.
Michal had earlier told Deborah that her house wouldn’t last long under such harsh weather, and his prediction turned out to be accurate. The acid rain comes back violently, melting through the roof, pipes, and doorways. As the house begins to collapse, Michal and Selma go to the basement to alert Deborah.
But instead of helping them, Michal runs off and escapes using Deborah’s car — the only transport she had in case of emergency. Driving through the acid rain, Michal can barely see and ends up stranded in an empty, destroyed field.
How does Acide end?
In the movie’s final scenes, Michal loses his temper and snaps at Selma, telling her to be quiet while he tries to drive through the acid storm. His reaction, although harsh, reflects how broken and worn out he has become.
Selma’s school life takes a dark turn as chaos unfolds at home (Photo: Bonne Pioche, Pathé Films, France 3 Cinéma, Umedia, and Caneo Films)As he tries to think clearly, he gets out of the car — only to realise that Selma has disappeared. Her decision to wander off seems absurd, and as soon as she notices how the muddy field is covered with acid, she tries to return. Lost in the dark, she climbs onto a rusted tractor to stay above the dangerous ground.
Michal sees her struggling and runs through the burning mud to rescue her. The acid scorches his legs badly as he lifts Selma and carries her back to the car. The long, terrifying night finally passes, and Selma wakes up next to her injured father. Michal’s legs are severely burned, and his condition is critical.
A military tank arrives just in time, offering them the help they desperately need. They are taken to a shelter for safety. Selma approaches one of the soldiers to ask if her uncle Brice is alive, but the soldier finds no record of him surviving.
She then asks about Karin and hears that Karin died in the hospital days ago. Michal later wakes and asks Selma if she met Karin, and she lies, telling him she did, so he can find peace and recover without guilt. That marks the final moments of the film.
Acide makes very little sense in terms of plot or decisions made by the characters. Selma’s poor choices and exaggerated behaviour might tempt viewers to throw away their devices. Even as I write this in the middle of the night, I can’t help but wonder how the acid rain spares the mobile towers and communication lines.
Throughout the film, people make one bad decision after another in the face of disaster. It’s hard to stop pointing out these things, so just appreciate the bleak visual style of the film and expect nothing deeper from it.
