214. One Fine Morning (Un beau matin); movie review

 

ONE FINE MORNING (UN BEAU MATIN)

Cert 15

113 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong sex

One of the worst hands that life can play is for a loved one to be struck down with any form of dementia.

My mum and I had to find care-home accommodation for my gran in common with Léa Seydoux's Sandra, her sister and mother in One Fine Morning.

The differences between the quality of homes were stark for us and for the characters in the movie.

In some cases, it was simply the stench which put us off - in others, the wandering and rantings of residents at different stages of losing their minds were heartbreaking.

I digress.

Sandra is a widow of five years who is faced with juggling her job as a high-powered translator with bringing up a young daughter (Camille Leban Martins) and trying to find the best outcome for her ailing father (Pascal Greggory).

Meanwhile, she develops an intense relationship with the married father (Melvil Poupaud) of one of her daughter's schoolmates.

Acclaimed writer and director Mia Hansen-Løve delves deep into parallel stories about the horrors facing the dementia sufferer and his family alongside the widow's search for love.

And it soon becomes clear neither is likely to find a neat resolution.

There is some high-quality acting in One Fine Morning. 

Seydoux is much more at home in dramas like this than playing second fiddle to James Bond. Her character's need for love is almost tangible and leads her down a desperate path.

Greggory is even more compelling as the philosophy expert who loses more faculties each time he comes on screen. 

On the downside, Hansen-Løve's film is repetitive because the type of life that the translator leads is just that.

Takes her kid to school, has quick nooky sessions and bleak visits to her father on a constant loop.

Thus, One Fine Morning is very realistic but not always compelling.

Reasons to watch: Frighteningly realistic

Reasons to avoid: Too repetitive

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? The author Terry Patchett suffered from Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), also called Benson's syndrome - a rare form of dementia which is considered a visual variant or an atypical variant of Alzheimer's disease 

The final word. Mia Hansen-Løve: "Honestly, I wish I could make films less connected to myself, so I wouldn’t have to talk about it so directly, but those are the films I write, so I feel I have to accept it really." Independent

Share this post