Year: 2007
Verdict: 7/10
Un film de: Claude Miller
Starring: Patrick Bruel
Cecile de France
Ludivine Sagnier
* Based on a true story, in search for what's lost, finding the truth and a secret that's been
withheld for long.
The scenario was divided into three parts, the summer of WWII, the early 1955 and
the late 1985.
As opposed to other films, the past was done in colored and the present in b*w, so at first,
the whole story might be a bit confusing.
The narrator of this film is in his thirties, as he recalls the past, he was a young Jewish boy then,
uncertain of the things that are happening around him.
He never understood why his dad was distant around him, he always felt he was unworthy of his love and care.
Little did he know that a secret was kept from him.
Rewinding back to the early years, his father was originally married to Hannah, played by Ludivine Sagnier,
It was almost a perfect Jewish family, they had a son who was training for the Olympics, hoping to be a swimmer.
But things started falling apart, when war broke out, destroying innocent lives and the change that has brought
each one of them.
To make matters worse, his father fell madly in love with another woman named Tania, a model played by Cecile de france,
who was the narrator's mother.
Hannah knew something wasn't right but didn't do anything about it.
She was perplexed by this dilemma and decided to surrender her life and her son, costing both of their lives
that ends in a most tragic way.
This time, both Tania and the narrator's father played by Patrick Bruel can't fight their feelings any longer
and finally gave in to this forbidden relationship, even though they knew it was wrong.
When war finally ended, the couple had a son ( the narrator), they named Francois ( the narrator ).
He was almost the perfect one, but at a young age, he was forced to be someone he's not,
he always felt he had a lost brother he didn't know, he actually did and no matter how much they wanted to
forget about the past, the awful memories kept coming back.
It was a tragic tale and a bitter ending, but a film that was well told.
Although, we've seen quite a few films about this kind of genre already,
It was still interesting as the actors played well and the almost Sepia tone of the film was nice.
The setting was a bit repetitive in a sense that it was going back and forth, but still something worth watching.
I'm impressed by the number of French films you refer to! I thought they generally stayed in France (+ possibly Belgium, Switzerland...)!
ReplyDeletelol!
ReplyDeleteyes, it;s not easy to find foreign films here, in here, most of the people preferred hollywood over subtitles and art.
but tnx to downloading and my eagerness to learn french. ^0^
Thank you for dropping by Adventures in a Not So Unusual Life. I saw another great film the other day that you too may enjoy. It's "The Kings Speach". I haven't yet reviewed it but it was marvelous and is based on the true story of the King of England, Queen Elizabeth's father. It's a great piece of cinematic art!
ReplyDeleteEven if I'm not really French (only 38 years here), I appreciate!!
ReplyDeleteI like films which explore psychological situations. BTW I love the top picture in Los Ojos de Julia - what a great room!
ReplyDeletetnx peter and jenny. ^0^
ReplyDelete