Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #529 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-02-09
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Synopsis
Kristin Scott Thomas (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) stars in this searing French drama about a woman who reunites with her young sister after a 15-year separation. Philippe Claudel directs a cast that also includes Elsa Zylberstein (THAT DAY).

Customer Reviews

Masterpiece
This is a wonderful warm and amazing movie. Its a simple story of a woman trying to re engage with her own family and society after a long absence. I dont want to give any thing away about why the main character has been away. Its so wonderfully done, slow and meaningful and searingly powerful. Its the little details that give this movie so much power. I cant remember any recent movie I have seen that left me so moved. Kristin is a towering actor, truly awesome, I cant think of any other actor who could have carried off such a demanding role with such insight & grace. Spell binding cinema, this kind of movie defines what movies should be about. I cant commend it highly enough. Work of genius. All the ensemble characters are all wonderful as well.

Sisterly Love
I thought this was a very moving film and showed how you can move from total despair and depression to a state of hope for the future. It shows that true love wins through no matter what you are led to believe. The younger sister's love for her sister allowed her to accept her whatever the crime she had committed. It is an excellent lesson for not jumping to conclusions and judgements.

The power of love, the power of death, a story of two sisters
Kristin Scott Thomas is amazing in this utterly fascinating movie about two sisters Juliette played by Kristen and Lea, a part made for the understated Elsa Zylberstein who have to get to know each other all over again after 15 years apart.

Juliette has been in prison, she murdered her six year old son Pierre and since his death she has not spoken of him but what she did caused her family to turn against her, other than her younger sister Lea who wants to mend bridges and make up for lost time.

However her time in prison has left Juliette in limbo, she is now a silent and self contained woman who no one at first can touch her, not even her younger sister Lea who has offered her a home much to the consternation of her husband Luc who worries about his two adopted daughters and his mute father, an enigmatic man who has suffered a series of strokes and now can no longer speak but he still can read and is much loved by all the family.

Juliette's slow emergence from her imprisonment, both physical and mental is a painful transition for everyone, from her wary brother-in-law, to her niece P'tit Lys who has a child's guile and understanding of human nature without even knowing it.

There is some genuine humour in the movie, like when Juliette sleeps with a man she meets in a bar and is dismissive of his sexual prowess, but best of all is the tense moment when she tells everyone at a dinner table she has been in prison for 15 years for murder, everyone but her sister, brother-in-law and a friend of her sister's roar with laughter, thinking she is being droll and sarcastic. Michel, played by the excellent, Laurent Grévill is Juliette's sister friend who forms a romantic attachment to Juliette for he alone understands what Juliette is going through and bit by bit we begin to understand why Juliette committed such a horrific crime.

This is not a sentimental film, but it is beautifully crafted and very human, and this makes it all the watchable.

Not everyone likes subtitles but I am glad they did not dub this particular film as it would have detracted from the film's nuance and beauty. Be prepared for an emotive ending that leaves you surprisingly satisfied as the two sisters finally let each other know how much they love each other and how a seemingly wanton act of violence actually was a powerful act of love.