Un monde presque paisible (2002) - film review

Paris, 1946.  A Jewish couple, Albert and Léa, re-start their tailoring business, recruiting other Jews to work for them in their small workshop.  All have been scarred by the experiences that Fate dealt them during the war and all find it hard to rebuild their shattered lives…

The subject of Un monde presque paisible is perhaps the most worthy that director Michel Deville has tackled to date – a portrait of a small Jewish community struggling to live with the aftershock of the Holocaust.  It must be said that Deville is probably not the best director for this kind of film – his idiosyncratic cinematic style and overtly cynical view of human nature greatly would seem to diminish whatever pathos or emotional depth the story may have.  However, Deville is surprisingly restrained here and the film is better than one might have expected.  Some touching performances from an exceptional cast bring out the extent of the tragedy inherent in the situation, and it is hard not to be moved by some of the film’s more poignant sequences.  A somewhat uneven film, a little marred by some unnecessary stylistic excesses, but a worthy and attractive film all the same.

© James Travers 2004

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