Cinéfranco 2010 Day 6 - Wednesday March 31, 2010

Day 6 at Cinéfranco was all about relationships, love and a few unique mother-children relationships. It was also a great opportunity to see fantastic female performances from Michèle Laroque in Dans tes bras / In Your Arms to powerhouse Sandrine Bonnaire in Un coeur simple / A Simple Heart, today certainly felt like ladies night.

Dans tes bras / In Your Arms
Dir: Hubert Gillet
Cast: Martin Loizillon, Michèle Laroque, Lola Naymark, Catherine Mouchet
France

Unreleased and unrealized emotions hold the current of Dans tes bras / In Your Arms. Martin Loizillon stars as the 16 year old Louis as someone who doesn't quite seem comfortable in their own skin and is searching for answers. He gives quick a spectacular performance that even leaving things unsaid, we see so much. Paired up against Michèle Laroque as Solange, the two have dynamic and charged encounters throughout the film. I loved how Dans tes bras / In Your Arms didn't shy away from the awkwardness of the situations that are created. It showcases how with family, regardless of how close you are or not, you certainly have a strong feeling of how encounters will go but so often you can be really off the mark.

The only downside was that I did feel something lost in the translation. My French is nowhere near strong enough to straight up understand what I'm hearing, but it's strong enough to know when things aren't as they seem. Could be the writing, or more even phrases where the literal translation just doesn't mean the same thing, but a few times it did feel like I was missing something. That being said, it was really about the relationships and performances which were very well done.



Un coeur simple / A Simple Heart
Dir: Marion Laine
Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Marina Foïs, Pascal Elbé, Patrick Pineau
France

Based on the short story by Gustave Flaubert, Un coeur simple / A Simple Heart is an astonishing adaptation to film from director Marion Laine. Centred on the main character of Félicité, in an unbelievable performance from Sandrine Bonnaire, we follow her literally simple life. Described as someone who is just a little odd, it goes to show that being odd doesn't mean you don't have a wealth of emotions and a hell of a lot to give. It's a challenging story in many ways, but also a beautiful one as well. Through heartbreak and loss but also an overwhelming sense of openness and simply joys. A rare treat.

Cinéfranco 2010 runs from March 26 - April 3, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada