Entre Nous

Our Rating: L Factor: Lesbian Film Short Take: Two women in unsatisfying marriages meet in postwar France. Alternate Titles: Coup de foudre
Year: 1983 Duration: 110 min Language: France/French MPAA: PG	Director: Diane Kurys Writer: Diane Kurys Starring: Miou-Miou, Isabelle Huppert, Guy Marchand

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At its heart, Entre Nous is a feminist film about taking control of your own life and what you make of it, not accepting the passive role of wife and mother just because it is expected of you. Based on a true story written by her daughter (Diane Kurys), the film opens as Lena (Isabelle Huppert, 8 Femmes) arrives in a Jewish detention center in 1942 France. There she meets Michel (Guy Marchand), who immediately offers to marry her. She accepts as her only way out of being sent to a concentration camp, and they flee into Italy.

Meanwhile, Madeleine (Miou-Miou, May Fools, Elles) is an artist and sculptor who is happily married until her husband is shot by the Germans. She later marries again when she becomes pregnant, but her new husband is a user and a loser.

When the two women meet at their children’s school, it’s 1952 in Lyon. A fast friendship develops, an immediate attraction. They read erotica to one another and dream of opening a dress shop together.

It’s unclear if they are lovers until it is a jealous Michel who says it out loud. His refusal to let Lena see Madeleine is what drives her to take action, and the women and their children start a new life together.

This received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film, and it’s filled with great performances and period costumes. You won’t find even a kiss on screen, but love is in the air. (AB)