''A Woman's Life'' () is a 2016 French-Belgian

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Stéphane Brizé Stéphane Brizé (born 18 October 1966) is a French film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Stéphane Brizé was born on 18 October 1966 in Rennes, France. He attended a University Institutes of Technology and moved to ...

. It is based on the

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

's novel '' Une vie'' about a sensitive woman forced to face the harshness of the world. It was selected to compete for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

at the

73rd Venice International Film Festival The 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September, 2016, at Venice Lido in Italy. English filmmaker Sam Mendes was the jury president of the main competition. Italian actress Sonia Bergamasco hosted th ...

where it won the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the worl ...

for Best Film in competition. It was awarded the

Louis Delluc Prize The Louis Delluc Prize ( ) is a French film award presented annually since 1937. The award is bestowed to the Best Film and Best First Film of the year on the second week of each December. The jury is composed of 20 members, consisting of a group ...

for Best Film in 2016. The film is described as "the delicate story of a life of candid emotions and searing disappointments", which presents the novel "in a series of bright flashbacks and gloomy flashforwards". Using a hand-held camera, Brizé frames "the heroine, played by a magnificent Judith Chemla... in 4:3 format (also known as 1.33:1), imprisoning her in a tormented existence".

Cast

* Judith Chemla as Jeanne du Perthuis des Vauds *

Jean-Pierre Darroussin Jean-Pierre Darroussin (born 4 December 1953) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was born in Courbevoie, France. Theater Filmography Actor *1992: '' Riens du tout'' (directed by Cédric Klapisch starring Fabrice Luchini, Daniel Berlioux ...

as Simon-Jacques Le Perthuis des Vauds *

Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedian, actress, film director and screenwriter. She has won three César Awards from four nominations. Career She made her cinematic debut with director Agnès Varda in two movies: Sept pi� ...

as Adélaïde Le Perthuis des Vauds *

Swann Arlaud Swann Arlaud (born 25 March 1981) is a French actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Romantics Anonymous'' (2010), ''Elles (film), Elles'' (2011), ''Les Anarchistes'' (2015), ''The Wakhan Front'' (2015), ''Baden Baden (film), Baden Baden'' (2 ...

as Julien de Lamare *

Nina Meurisse Nina Meurisse (born 14 November 1988) is a French actress. For her role in Souleymane's Story, she won the Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress. Theater Filmography Cinema Television References External links * Livin ...

as Rosalie * Finnegan Oldfield as Paul de Lamare *

Clotilde Hesme Clotilde Hesme (; born 30 July 1979) is a French actress known for playing Lilie in Philippe Garrel's '' Regular Lovers'' and Alice in Christophe Honoré's ''Love Songs''. She is also known for the role of Adèle from the TV series '' Les Reve ...

as Gilberte de Fourville * Alain Beigel as Georges de Fourville * Olivier Perrier as Picot * François-Xavier Ledoux as Tolbiac * Lucette Beudin as Ludivine * Sarah Durand as Françoise * Marc Olry as Ferdinant de Vauvert * Lise Lamétrie as Cousin Rose

Synopsis

Normandy, 1819. Baron Simone-Jacques Le Perthuis and his wife Adelaide have one child, Jeanne, whose friend is their servant Rosalie, the same age as her. After meeting the Vicomte Julien de Lamare she falls in love with him and soon weds. But Jeanne discovers that he has been unfaithful, with Rosalie, who, pregnant by him, is dismissed. Although Jeanne forgives Julien he continues to philander, this time with a neighbour Gilberte de Fourville. Jeanne tries with the local priest to find a way out of her misery. When Julien is shot by Gilberte's husband Jeanne's son Paul, in poor health is educated at home before being sent away aged 12 to boarding school. Paul later falls in love with a prostitute, runs up huge debts, and still feckless runs off to London, regularly writing to ask his mother for money but not visiting her. At 42, Jeanne is alone except for Rosalie, who has come back to help her childhood friend. The last line of the film (and the book) is ''"Life, you see, is never as good or as bad as one thinks”''.

Production

The film was shot in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. It started 24 August 2015. In his first film work, the harpsichordist Olivier Baumont provides the soundtrack, playing his own score on the

pianoforte A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temp ...

, while also including themes from works by

Jacques Duphly Jacques Duphly (also Dufly, Du Phly; 12 January 1715 – 15 July 1789) was a French harpsichordist and composer. Early career as an organist He was born in Rouen, France, the son of Jacques-Agathe Duphly and Marie-Louise Boivin. As a boy, he s ...

Accolades

References

External links