Un moment d’égarement (1977) - film review

Two middle-aged friends, Pierre and Victor, take a holiday in the south of France with their teenage daughters, Martine and Françoise.  Both Pierre and Victor are separated from their wives and hope to start afresh.  One night, Pierre is attracted to Françoise and the two end up making love on the beach.  The day after, Pierre regrets what he has done, but Françoise insists she is in love with him.  When Victor discovers that his daughter has slept with an older man he is furious, not realising that the object of his anger is his closest friend…

In contrast to Claude Berri’s more lavish productions of the 1980s and 1990s, Un moment d’égarement is a slow-paced, low-key comedy-drama which revolves around the relationship of just three characters.  Although modest in scope, the film is among Berri’s most memorable films, mainly on account of the performances from the three lead actors.  Jean-Pierre Marielle, Victor Lanoux and Agnès Soral are perfectly cast and give intelligent, sensitive portrayals of three complex and emotionally intense individuals.  Occasionally the film is let down by its script, which fails to develop some ideas sufficiently, but overall it is a satisfying and rather poignant piece of cinema.

© James Travers 2005

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