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Movie review Cast: Cecile De France, Patrick Bruel At: Byrd Theatre, 2:50 p.m. Sunday FYI: Running time: 1:43. In French with English subtitles. Not rated, but scenes of sex and nudity |
The secret to "Un secret" is that there is more than one secret.
That turns out to be a good thing, because anyone who is paying attention can easily guess the first secret. But the story is deeper and richer.
It will be shown Sunday at 2:50 p.m. at the Byrd as part of the VCU French Film Festival.
Based on true events -- which is important to keep in mind -- the film tells of a family in quiet crisis. It is Paris in 1955, and 7-year-old Francois is skinny, frail and sickly, a constant disappointment to his athletic father, played by Patrick Bruel. His equally athletic mother -- Cécile De France, who was so gaminelike in "Avenue Montaigne -- disapproves of his father's disapproval but says nothing.
Francois is baptized, which leads to significant glances between his parents and their Jewish best friend (played by Julie Depardieu, who won a Cesar award for the supporting performance). A scene or two later, Francois' grandfather starts speaking in Yiddish, an aunt refers to his "goy baptism" and we get the idea: His family is secretly Jewish and pretended to be Christian to survive the war.
That's the easily guessed secret. The others come out throughout the story, which is fractured and interwoven in time between 1962, 1985 and an extended flashback from around 1940. What comes from these periods is a story of love and desire, not necessarily in that order, that emerges in a troubling way in troubled times.
It is this story of love, and its consequences, that is this French film's raison d'etre. And it is for this part of the film that it is best to remember that the story is true.
Or at least true-ish. The part played by Depardieu is fictional, but narratively helpful, and Francois' real name is Philippe. He wrote the best-selling memoir -- technically a novel -- on which the picture is based.
Claude Miller, the honorary president of the festival, co-wrote and directed. Miller, whose films include "The Accompanist," "The Little Thief" and "La Petite Lili," demonstrates his typical flair for character development and for bringing out the best in his actors. Among these, and perhaps the most familiar face to American audiences, is Ludivine Sagnier, whose role in the story is pivotal.
We won't tell you what it is, though. It's a secret.
