Se souvenir des belles choses (2001) - film review

Although barely 30, Claire believes she is showing the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, a condition from which her mother has recently died.  Her sister, Nathalie, is certain that her memory loss, caused by a lightning strike, is temporary.  In the clinic where she is being treated, Claire is attracted to Bernard, a man who is still traumatised after a car accident in which his wife and child were both killed.  In spite of their personal tragedies, Claire and Bernard fall in love.  When Bernard recovers, Claire moves into his home.  Then Claire’s condition takes a turn for the worse...

How can any director make a film about Alzheimer’s disease without falling prey to tired clichés or strained sentimentality?  What hope is there in this subject to attract – let alone cheer – a cinema audience, a fair proportion of whom are likely to end up victims of this terrible illness?  For her directorial debut, Zabou Breitman could not have chosen a more challenging theme, and the fact that her film is such a magnificent creation is nothing short of a small miracle.

Se souvenir des belles choses is one of the most beautiful, enchanting and satisfying films to come out of France in recent years.  It combines the seductive fantasy wonder of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulin with an almost documentary-style realism, the result being a fairytale-like odyssey, skilfully portraying the highs and lows of human experience.  This is a film which offers a truly memorable cinematic experience, partly because of its subject, but mainly because of the way in which that subject is portrayed.

The grim storyline should make watching this film a relentlessly depressing experience.  We see an attractive young woman (the wonderful Isabelle Carré, at her abolute best) gradually succumbing to the effects of a memory-destroying condition.  First there is the horrible realisation and fear over what her destiny will be when she becomes aware of her illness.  Then there is the panic as her condition progressively deteriorates, erasing her life like someone wiping a whiteboard.  And then the unspeakable horror of the end result…   This should be a gruelling film, almost too painful to watch.  Yet it isn’t any of this.  What we see is upsetting, hugely poignant, but this is not a depressing film.  With a startling humanity and sense of optimism, the film shows us that even in the midst of personal tragedy, life is still worth living, providing we accept reality and make the best of what we have.

As a director and writer, Zabou Breitman shows not just talent and maturity, but also great originality.  Yet to make light of a subject so traumatic as Alzheimer’s disease demands more than this – it also requires guts.  By defying stereotypical characters and situations, by daring to combine comedy and tragedy, she proves her credentials as an auteur of no mean quality.   The poetry in her script and her direction are heightened by Dominique Chapuis’ mood-evoking and often hugely innovative photography.

In the role of the ill-fated Claire, Isabelle Carré at last has the opportunity to show that she is one of France’s most talented actors.  In a restrained, sensitive performance, Carré gives the film its emotional depth and is harrowingly easy to identify with.  The same can equally be said of her co-star, the equally talented Bernard Campan (who was previously better known for his comedy work).  His portrayal of a man whose life appears to be coming back together just as his lover’s starts to fall apart is intensely moving, bringing home the tragic reality of the situation in the film’s haunting, darker moments.

One reason for the film’s impact is that it shows the experiences of the film’s protagonists from their respective points of view.  Seen from a purely objective standpoint, all we would see is tragedy, the pitiful and cruel destruction of a beautiful life.  What the film shows us however is something very different – the nobility of human experience and the power of love to overcome any physical or emotional crisis.  For a world that is tainted by irrational fear and unthinking cynicism, Se souvenir des belles choses offers a much-needed antidote with its simple message of hope.

© James Travers 2004


In her first bat as a director, Zabou Breitman has hit one right out of the park.  This is, no question, one of the best French films of the past ten years and possibly the last fifty.   I defy anyone not to feel they are watching a documentary rather than a fictional film.  This is carefully scripted, lovingly and skilfully directed and above all acted magnificently by the luminous Isabelle Carré, who will wait a very long time before being gifted another career-making role like this again.  This is not to overlook co-star Bernard Crampan or even Zabou herself in a supporting role.  I cannot praise this film too highly.  Wait, I’ll rephrase that, this film cannot be praised too highly by anyone be it a respected critic or a modest fan.  A must for anyone who loves great art masquerading as film.

© Leon Nock (London, England) 2010  

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