Cecil says: This film brought back so many memories for me, especially of my life in Paris when I had a job as a university assistant. I shall never forget a dinner party organised by one of the senior lecturers in the English department, in which she actually referred to ‘Nous, les intellectuels’ (We intellectuals). Part of me felt inadequate, but part of me also thought: ‘speak for yourself, darling’, and yet another part of me kind of despised her for being pretentious.
Being intellectual is such a French thing to take pride in, whereas for
Brits it is seen as out of touch, something almost to be ashamed of. The long
dinner time discussions (something else that marks out both the film itself and
French society) over philosophical questions felt soooo French. Attractive on
one level, but never something I felt at ease with when I lived there.
Somehow the school student rebellions and big discussions between far
left and pragmatic progressives also felt like a very French way of doing
things. Not sure how many picket lines there would ever be outside a British
high school…
But this film is not really about intellectuals. It is actually making
the point that you still need to get on with the daily practicalities of life
however intellectual you are: dealing with demented Mum, dealing with
unfaithful husband, even doing the washing up while at the mountain retreat
with the other young thinkers (and surely that was a conscious decision of the
director to have the two women wash up while the men continued their important
debate?).
The 1960s were an iconic period in France as much as Britain, but
awareness of sexism was definitely way way behind where we are now – or are we?
I enjoyed this film. The plot moved along, not at an express pace, but
the life changes did come one after the other so must have felt like a tsunami
to the main character, played brilliantly by Isabelle Huppert.
None of the other characters or actors stood out for me, though I did
wonder why the daughter was so insistent that her Dad confess to his affair, but
we didn’t get enough of an insight into the kids to know really what was going
on for them; and again, when same daughter had her baby, it is not clear why
she is crying. It’s one of those films that could actually be developed into a
TV series, with each episode seeing the same events and actions from a
different character’s perspective.
***.5
Bea says: Yes, an excellent piece of French film-making and such a treat to see a
French film; reminded me of the weekend trips Cecil and I sometimes used to do to
Paris, when we would see 3-4 films in a row.
A strong plot is what kept this film going for me; the themes are
universal – life issues and changes.
That the central character is a woman (Huppert) and we see all aspects
of her life; family, partner, work, is actually a rare treat; this film passes
the Bechtel test superbly.
We see her
survive her husband’s affair and move on to an independent life in keeping with
how she really wants to live; and despite setbacks and disappointments (when
the university bookshop drops her book and her publisher cancels a new
edition), we also see the joys (her work, new friendships, even if they don’t
quite go as expected, a new addition to the family). A great film to cause reflection on one’s own
life and that reminds us there is always the rough and the smooth.
***1/2
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