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France · 2002
1h 30m
Director Julie Lopes-Curval
Starring Bulle Ogier, Ludmila Mikaël, Hélène Fillières, Jonathan Zaccaï
Genre Drama
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This French drama depicts the static lives of some of the year-round inhabitants of a small coastal town on the Somme Bay. While vacationers filter in and out, Paul, a lifeguard in the summer and grocery store clerk in the winter; his gambling mother; and his factory worker girlfriend always remain. But change is imminent.
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
While she (Lopes-Curval) portrays the brittleness of their lives with lovely splashes of generosity, the lack of condescension doesn't change the fact that there's not much drama to be found in those very limitations; her characters don't do much beyond getting on one another's nerves.
This seemingly placid community is slowly revealed to be tangle of interpersonal relationships defined by that essential rift that divides those who summer at the beach and those who remain behind at season's end.
The whole endeavor pleases with its wealth of tiny observations that add up to an affecting whole.
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
Compare it to what passes for sophisticated filmmaking in this country and the movie becomes a living instrument of cinematic humanism: lovingly intent on observing, not judging; concerned with sympathy, not control; accepting the inevitable ambiguities, not denying them.
The writer-director's overthinking on the matter is part of what's wrong with her debut film, which is sensitively shot, deeply felt, and dry as dirt.
The story unfolds as slowly as does life in Cayeux. There's minimal dialogue and even less action.