If you have some patience and can let this French drama unfold you may certainly find some rewards here, in what I found to be an absorbing and poignant film with interesting characters and fine acting all around. The movie was written and directed by Diane Kurys, of whom I've read often puts biographical material into her films and I got a sense that this was true here. Certain questions seem to be intentionally left unanswered, which may be OK with some viewers, but not all.
The movie opens in France some four decades after the end of WW2. Two sisters Tania (Julie Ferrier) and Annie (Sylvie Testud) have come together to go through the belongings of their mother Lena, who had passed away some 3 months before. They also are coming to grips with the deteriorating health of their father Michel, who had divorced from Lena quite some time ago.
However, Annie, who's a writer, becomes intrigued through old letters and photos with what might be the story of her parents lives and those around them. She begins to research and write her version of Lena and Michel's lives right after the end of the war. Michel and Lena are both superbly portrayed by Benoit Magimel and Melanie Thierry respectively.
Told through flashbacks, we learn Michel saved Lena's life when they were in a French internment camp for Jews during the war. Later, after the war, they married in Lyon and soon thereafter had their eldest daughter Tania.
Michel was a devoted member of the Communist Party while Lena was disinterested in politics. Things would get terribly complicated with the arrival of Michel's long lost brother Jean, also ably portrayed by Nicolas Duvauchelle. Jean will turn out to be part of a network hunting down and killing Nazi officers that are trying to escape capture. Additionally, more turmoil will be added to the mix when Lena and Paul fall in love.
Although all the pieces here may not fall exactly into place, I still found this drama to be engrossing and well presented, and can be recommended to those viewers who like this kind of film.
The movie opens in France some four decades after the end of WW2. Two sisters Tania (Julie Ferrier) and Annie (Sylvie Testud) have come together to go through the belongings of their mother Lena, who had passed away some 3 months before. They also are coming to grips with the deteriorating health of their father Michel, who had divorced from Lena quite some time ago.
However, Annie, who's a writer, becomes intrigued through old letters and photos with what might be the story of her parents lives and those around them. She begins to research and write her version of Lena and Michel's lives right after the end of the war. Michel and Lena are both superbly portrayed by Benoit Magimel and Melanie Thierry respectively.
Told through flashbacks, we learn Michel saved Lena's life when they were in a French internment camp for Jews during the war. Later, after the war, they married in Lyon and soon thereafter had their eldest daughter Tania.
Michel was a devoted member of the Communist Party while Lena was disinterested in politics. Things would get terribly complicated with the arrival of Michel's long lost brother Jean, also ably portrayed by Nicolas Duvauchelle. Jean will turn out to be part of a network hunting down and killing Nazi officers that are trying to escape capture. Additionally, more turmoil will be added to the mix when Lena and Paul fall in love.
Although all the pieces here may not fall exactly into place, I still found this drama to be engrossing and well presented, and can be recommended to those viewers who like this kind of film.
