Une semaine de vacances (1980)
Bertrand Tavernier
  Drama  


Synopsis
At 31, Laurence, a teacher at a Lyons high school, no longer feels up to her job.  She is thinking about giving up teaching altogether but her doctor advises her to take a week off work rather than make a rash decision.  Laurence takes advantage of her prescribed holiday to visit her parents and catch up with some friends, including Mancheron, the father of one of her pupils.  It isn’t only Laurence’s work that is depressing her.  She is beginning to feel trapped in her relationship with Pierre, who is insistent that they start a family...

  • Director: Bertrand Tavernier
  • Script: Marie-Françoise Hans, Bertrand Tavernier, Colo Tavernier
  • Photo: Pierre-William Glenn
  • Music: Eddy Mitchell, Pierre Papadiamandis
  • Cast: Nathalie Baye (Laurence Cuers), Gérard Lanvin (Pierre), Flore Fitzgerald (Anne), Michel Galabru (Mancheron), Jean Dasté (Le père de Laurence), Marie-Louise Ebeli (La mère de Laurence), Philippe Delaigue (Jacques, le frère de Laurence), Geneviève Vauzeilles (Lucie), Philippe Léotard (Le docteur Sabouret), Philippe Noiret (Michel Descombes), Jean-Claude Durand (Philippe), Jean Sourbier (André), André Mortamais (Le client), Thierry Herbivo (Jean Mancheron), Nils Tavernier (Patrice), Nicole Biondi (La mère de Claudine), Silvia Jouve (La petite fille), Emmanuelle Kaizer (Claudine), Christian Mur (Le chauffeur de taxi), Henri Vart (Le client du taxi)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 102 min
  • Aka: A Week’s Holiday; A Week’s Vacation




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Film Review
Although not generally regarded as one of Bertrand Tavernier’s most important works, Une semaine de vacances is an engaging drama that provides a sobering reflection on the difficulties faced by teachers at time when their profession was no longer widely respected and subject to seemingly constant government initiatives.   Nathalie Baye heads an impressive cast, turning in a poignant performance which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 1981 Césars.  The film itself was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1980 (the first of Tavernier’s three nominations for the award to date).   Although the film was made three decades ago, it continues to be highly relevant – if anything, the malaise in the teaching profession which is aluded to in this film has only worsened over this period.

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