''In the Shadow of Women'' (french: L'Ombre des femmes) is a 2015 French-Swiss
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Philippe Garrel
Philippe Garrel (; born 6 April 1948) is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor, and producer, associated with the French New Wave movement. His films have won him awards at Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival.
...
, starring
Clotilde Courau
Princess Clotilde Marie Pascale Courau (born 3 April 1969) is a French actress. She is married to Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Royal Families of the World: ''Volume I Europe & Latin America''. Burke's Pee ...
,
Stanislas Merhar
Stanislas Merhar (born 24 January 1971) is a French actor.
He was born in Paris in a family of immigrants from Slovenia. He works in cinema, television and theatre.
In 1998 Merhar won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in the ...
, and Lena Paugam. It was selected to open the
Directors' Fortnight
The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...
section at the
2015 Cannes Film Festival
The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...
.
It is the second installment in Garrel's trilogy of love, the first being ''
Jealousy
Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety.
Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...
'' (2013) and the third being ''
Lover for a Day
''Lover for a Day'' (french: L'Amant d'un jour) is a 2017 French drama film directed by Philippe Garrel and starring Éric Caravaca, Esther Garrel, and Louise Chevillotte. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2017 Cannes ...
'' (2017).
Plot
A filmmaker Pierre is working on a documentary film about the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
. He is married to Manon. However, he encounters Elisabeth, an intern at a film archive, and has an affair with her.
Cast
Release
The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the
Directors' Fortnight
The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...
section at the
2015 Cannes Film Festival
The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...
on 14 May 2015. It was released in France on 27 May 2015.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an 87% approval rating, based on 38 reviews, with an average score of 7.4/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film received an average score of 74, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Eric Kohn of ''
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' gave the film a grade of B−, saying, "with its luscious 35mm photography and playful depiction of passionate lovers reaching a breaking point, the swift 72-minute drama delivers a satisfying riff on moody, intimate material Garrel has mined to richer effect many times before." Scott Foundas of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' described it as "a tightly focused romantic drama that exudes the narrative terseness of a good short story and the lucid craftsmanship of a filmmaker in full command of the medium."
''
Cahiers du cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' ranked it as the third best film of 2015.
Accolades
References
External links
*
{{Philippe Garrel
2015 films
2015 drama films
French drama films
Swiss drama films
2010s French-language films
French black-and-white films
Swiss black-and-white films
Films directed by Philippe Garrel
French-language Swiss films
2010s French films