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. |