After their Oscar winning success in La Vie devant soi, director Moshé Mizrahi and actress Simone Signoret
are reunited in this poignant drama revolving around such eternal themes as loneliness,
growing old and unrequited love. Mizrahi's direction is notably less inspired
than in his earlier film, and some of the plot developments are not fully explained and
seem faintly ludicrous. However, the quality of the cinematography and the exquisite
performances from the three lead actors offer a more than adequate compensation for the
film's shortcomings.
In her later years, Simone Signoret confirmed
her reputation as one of Fench cinema's most cherished actresses with some extraordinarily
moving portrays of vulnerable, disillusioned and lonely women. As the part of Louise
in this film, she gives a harrowingly true to life performance of a complex middle-aged
woman. Jean Rochefort, another of French cinema's finest actors, is equally
as impressive, and brings both humanity and a sense of cruel irony to the film.
It is left to the magnificent Delphine Seyrig to lighten the tone of the film in her role
as the slightly mischievous (yet, in her own way, emotionally crippled) Yvette.
The film is set on the coast of Brittany, a raw location which offers some spectacular
photography and contributes greatly to the mood of the piece.
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Film Synopsis
Gilles and Louise are a brother and sister who have lived all their lives
together in a remote house by the sea not far from Quimper in Brittany.
Both are well into middle-age and Louise resents having devoted her life
to looking after Gilles, who has been wheelchair-bound since he was a boy.
They live a monkish existence, their only contact with the outside world
being Yvette, a baker from the nearby village. In the end, Louise can
endure her loneliness no longer, so she places a personal ad in the local
newspaper, in the hope of attracting her perfect soul mate. She
is surprised when she receives a reply to her ad, and even more surprised
when it turns out to be from her brother. Louise is deeply moved
by the feelings that Gilles manages to arouse in his writing, feelings of
warmth and tenderness. Under an assumed name, she responds to Gilles'
letter and the two continue writing to one another, exchanging their most
intimate thoughts through post. Finally, Gilles writes asking to see
his mysterious correspondent. Knowing that she cannot disillusion
her brother, Louise sets about trying to find someone willing to pass herself
off as his ardent pen pal...
With so many great films to choose from, it's nigh on impossible to compile a short-list of the best 15 French films of all time - but here's our feeble attempt to do just that.
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