From the Land of the Moon (2016)
Overview
In 1950s France, a free-spirited woman trapped in an arranged marriage falls in love with an injured veteran of the Indochinese War.
Cast
Marion Cotillard
Gabrielle
Louis Garrel
André Sauvage
Àlex Brendemühl
José
Brigitte Roüan
Adéle
Victoire du Bois
Jeannine
Aloïse Sauvage
Agostine
Victor Quilichini
Marc - 14 ans
Camilo Acosta Mendoza
Camilo
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From an early age, "Gabrielle" (Marion Cotillard) has shown a bit of a rebellious spirit. As a girl, she was determined not to obey her parental wish to marry the local "Jose" (a subtly nuanced effort from Alex Brendemühl) - even though he was quite fond of her, and as a result she lived in the semi-seclusion that befitted an unwed girl in rural France. Her "break" comes in the unlikely form of some kidney stones that necessitates a trip to an Alpine hospital. It's here that she encounters the recovering "André" (Louis Garrel) who has just returned from French Indochina shell-shocked and badly wounded. There's a little of a Wildred Owen poem to this drama, I thought. It shows us the results of the horrors of war, the after effects and trauma, but there's also a degree of hope and optimism as their love story takes shape and maybe, just maybe, there's scope for contentment somewhere. Cotillard is on solid form as the rather self-obsessed and just a bit flaky "Gabrielle" and though Garrel doesn't have so much to do, he still comes across convincingly as a soldier conflicted by a reality and a dream - it's that conclusion that is quite a touching affair, and causes us to have a think about just who "Gabrielle" actually is. The film looks good and is well scored by Daniel Pemberton which all gives a certain lustre to Cotillard's portrayal of a woman I don't think I'd have liked very much.
