Stars: Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka
Storyline
Nathalie teaches philosophy at a high school in Paris. She is passionate about her job and particularly enjoys passing on the pleasure of thinking. Married with two children, she divides her time between her family, former students and her very possessive mother. One day, Nathalie's husband announces he is leaving her for another woman. With freedom thrust upon her, Nathalie must reinvent her life.
Cast: Isabelle Huppert -
Nathalie Chazeaux
André Marcon -
Heinz
Roman Kolinka -
Fabien
Edith Scob -
Yvette Lavastre
Sarah Le Picard -
Chloé
Solal Forte -
Johann
Elise Lhomeau -
Elsa
Lionel Dray -
Hugo
(as Lionel Dray-Rabotnik)
Grégoire Montana -
Simon (élève lycée)
(as Grégoire Montana-Haroche)
Lina Benzerti -
Antonia
Guy-Patrick Sainderichin -
L'éditeur
Yves Heck -
Daniel
Rachel Arditi -
Amélie
Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet -
La chef de rayon aux Editions Cartet
Larissa Guist -
Ruth
We had seen the same director's "Eden" two years ago, and frankly, if
we had noticed that she directed this, we would have given it a miss.
We saw it at the Toronto Film Festival.
Like "Eden," this is one of those movies that simply shows a person's
life over some period of time. There is no moral, no point to the story
(as far as I can see), very little humor (Isabelle Huppert was at the
screening and said she tried to inject a bit of humor with her acting),
and more than a bit pretentious (the director seemed to be in love with
the final scene, although it left me cold).
I have a feeling this was, like "Eden," fairly autobiographical. The
director's parents were both philosophy teachers, and I would have
liked them to have commented on the movie--was this really about them?
Is the director simply making a movie in the same way other people
might talk about their parents to a therapist? I don't know.
My objection is that nothing much happens--either in terms of plot or
in terms of involvement in the movie. Yes, her husband leaves her for
another woman. Yes, she likes her former student, but there is not much
passion in either situation. She doesn't seem to care, and neither did
I. There are occasional long quotations from philosophers, and maybe
this would have made everything more comprehensible, but the quotations
were quite long, and hard to follow with subtitles. Even so, you
shouldn't need a quotation to make sense of a movie.
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