Chère inconnue (1980)
Directed by Moshé Mizrahi

Film Review

After their Oscar winning success in La Vie devant soi, director Moshé Mizrahi and actress Simone Signoret are reunited in this poignant drama revolving around such eternal themes as loneliness, growing old and unrequited love.  Mizrahi's direction is notably less inspired than in his earlier film, and some of the plot developments are not fully explained and seem faintly ludicrous.  However, the quality of the cinematography and the exquisite performances from the three lead actors offer a more than adequate compensation for the film's shortcomings.

In her later years, Simone Signoret confirmed her reputation as one of Fench cinema's most cherished actresses with some extraordinarily moving portrays of vulnerable, disillusioned and lonely women.  As the part of Louise in this film, she gives a harrowingly true to life performance of a complex middle-aged woman.  Jean Rochefort, another of French cinema's finest actors, is equally as impressive, and brings both humanity and a sense of cruel irony to the film.   It is left to the magnificent Delphine Seyrig to lighten the tone of the film in her role as the slightly mischievous (yet, in her own way, emotionally crippled) Yvette.  The film is set on the coast of Brittany, a raw location which offers some spectacular photography and contributes greatly to the mood of the piece.

Film Synopsis

Gilles and Louise are a brother and sister who have lived all their lives together in a remote house by the sea not far from Quimper in Brittany.  Both are well into middle-age and Louise resents having devoted her life to looking after Gilles, who has been wheelchair-bound since he was a boy.  They live a monkish existence, their only contact with the outside world being Yvette, a baker from the nearby village.  In the end, Louise can endure her loneliness no longer, so she places a personal ad in the local newspaper, in the hope of attracting her perfect soul mate.   She is surprised when she receives a reply to her ad, and even more surprised when it turns out to be from her brother.   Louise is deeply moved by the feelings that Gilles manages to arouse in his writing, feelings of warmth and tenderness.  Under an assumed name, she responds to Gilles' letter and the two continue writing to one another, exchanging their most intimate thoughts through post.  Finally, Gilles writes asking to see his mysterious correspondent.   Knowing that she cannot disillusion her brother, Louise sets about trying to find someone willing to pass herself off as his ardent pen pal...