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Clair de femme
1979 Drama / Romance
Review
Clair de femme is not the kind of film you would
associate with director Costa-Gavras. Best known for his high profile political
thrillers, such as Z
(1969) and État
de siege (1973), Costa-Gavras also directed this low-key romantic drama, which
brings together two icons of French cinema, Yves Montand and Romy Schneider (both in the
twilight of their film careers). Although it is far from being the director’s
best film, it was a significant commercial success in France.
This is the kind of film which the French tend to do very well – a slow-paced, character-driven drama in which a middle aged man and woman fall in love in the midst of the worst kind of mid-life crisis. If Claude Sautet had directed this film, it would probably have been a masterpiece. Lacking experience with this genre of film, Costa-Gavras gives us a significantly lesser work, but one which is nonetheless poignant – and occasionally insightful. Romy Schneider’s performance is particularly memorable, with the actress exposing a far darker and more tortured soul than ever before – a reflection of her troubled personal life at the time or a presentiment of the the greater tragedy that was to come? © James Travers 2005 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Costa-Gavras
Starring: Yves Montand, Romy Schneider, Lila Kedrova, Heinz Bennent, Catherine Allégret Synopsis
With his wife dying a slow and undignified natural death, Michel prepares to leave France
and catch a plane to Caracas. At the airport, he has second thoughts. Whilst
walking the streets of Paris, he runs into Lydia, a middle-aged woman whose husband is
brain damaged after a car accident in which her daughter died. Michel and Lydia
find mutual support in each other’s company, but are they destined for one another…?
Credits
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