Wow. This movie really makes me regret my previous attempts to dismiss most French films, aruging they have too much dialogue without enough emphasis on events (and causing the movie to drag forever). Well, I saw a lot of French films before coming out of it but with one movie, I snapped out of it. From now on, I am not going to be so quick to judge. In fact I decided to jump at it if it is written/directed by Phillippe Claudel.
The movie stars Kristin Scott Thomas and this is what made me want to watch the movie in the firs place. For one, she is a great actress. But I was more intrigued by the fact that she would be starring in a French movie, as a French woman. You might be remembering Kristin from The English Patient? Or Easy Virtue? Yes, she is English. And while a lot of good actors can master different accents of their languages (Hugh Laurie in House) or they can fake foreign accents impeccably (Mark Strong, Body of Lies), it is rarer for another actor to have mastered another language. Surely, Italian Raoul Bova has appeared in Hollywood movies and Spanish Antonio Banderas is a major Hollywood star. But they get to play foreigners since you can tell where they from upon hearing them. However I have so far seen really few native English speakers play in foreign films. While Kristin Scott Thomas’ character is supposed to have some roots in Britain, she is playing an essentially French character. So you end up admiring her linguistic abilities as well as her acting.
The Plot:
Juliette Fontaine (Scott Thomas) is released from prison after a 15-year-sentence. Her younger sister Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) is eager to bond with her again and help her adapt her new life as a free woman. Things aren’t going to be easy for either of them. For one thing, Elsa’s husband Luc ( is not all that willing to live with an ex-convict under his roof, where they are raising two small children. However, Léa is determined to make Juliette feel welcome and make up for the years where she wasn’t at all there for Juliette. Léa and Luc’s friend Michel is both intrigued by and attracted to Juliette, without knowing where she had been for the last decade and a half. Juliette tries to find a job, get along with government officials and to be loving again. Her cold and defensive attitude slowly is altered by her sister.
Now, the premise sounds simple and humane. And that’s exactly why it works. It is rare for a drama to arise your curiosity this much, as you are dying to know what crime she committed. It must be something awful, right? You don’t just get sent away for 15 years for self-defense. But on the other hand, if she did do something that terrible, how can Léa be so welcoming and trusting? And after you do learn about the crime, you get even more intrigued. How can she have committed that and lived with herself? What could have been the motive? Juliette never strikes you as a monster after all.
The pace, the dialogue, the setting and characters look and feel so real. What I find most beautiful about this movie is that its subject and characters are extremely universal and humane. You have a small family, a troubled sister with a troubled past, a mother in a nursing home and a live-in father they take care of. It is all about humanity, compassion, life, family, love, understanding, depression and reconnection. How can anyone not find at least one thing to relate to? Nothing is over the top and I adored the ending. Not because it is happy or sad; but because it is perfect just the way it is. And I won’t try to hide the fact that I shed a few tears. It is not a regular habit of mine, but the climax sort of explodes in your face. Any emotion you might have felt or delayed during the movie finally goes out.
You might argue about actions and the motives. What one person finds humane can be thought as monstrous by the other. But in the end, it is the story of Juliette. Not yours. And there are people who could have chosen to go down the path she did.
Final note: Kristin was nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe in 2008 for this role. I have no idea why she hasn’t received an Oscar yet. While she was nominated in English Patient, she wasn’t nominated for this one.
7.7. on IMDB.
9-10/10 from me.