Sarfaraz Abbasi’s review published on Letterboxd:
Turning Tide (En Solitaire) - French-Belgian-Spanish drama, co-written and directed by Christophe Offenstein (Blood Ties - his debut-directorial and formerly Director-of-Photography). Starring Francois Cluzet (The Intouchables), Samy Seghir and Virginie Efira. Its budget include 17 million ($23 million) Euro co-production.
Film opens with a gala occasion being celebrated inside the studio from where the crew using Skype is able to communicate with Yann Kermadec (Cluzet). Yann is in his 40s. A man of demeanor, he is partaking in a global Vendée Globe yacht-race, participating and sailing using his brother-in-law's yacht (who for some accident could not do it himself for which Yann is very thankful to him for the accident he tells him). The yacht is solar-powered and is extremely hi-tech, with different navigational gadgets, laptops, iPads, the Wi-Fi. He usually remains in contact with his little daughter and his love-interest 'Marie' (Virginie Efira - Belgian actress).
Yann wants to break the records and become the first to lead a group of sailors (each yacht with one captain only). After some damage to his rudder nearby the 'Canary Island', Yann anchors for two days to fix the damage by himself. When he is set to go, on the way, he notices a 16-year old Mauritanian boy Mano (Seghir) who had snuck onto the boat near the Canary Island. Yann becomes panicked and worries about his disqualification. He first scolds and briefly manhandles the little boy. But somehow let it be the way it is. He repeatedly asks the boy to remain inside the boat, so not to be noticed by the others.
I cannot believe that this film has not been reviewed by critics, and unfortunately it has gone overlooked. Turning Tide is another addition to the list of movies set on 'at the waters'. A remarkable photography and breathtaking ocean waves. While the film also drags us onto the soil to get us acquainted with other characters. Who belong to Yann's life, possibly his daughter, a love-interest and the crew who he has been in contact with.
Unnecessarily this might not have had the same altitude that you should seek. Nevertheless the film does offer 'hilarious scenes', 'dramatic-lines' and 'adventurous thrills'. So go ahead if you want to see the waters from the French perspective.