Coup de foudre (1983)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Diane Kurys

Writers:

Olivier Cohen (book)
Diane Kurys (book)

Release Date:

6 April 1983 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

In 1942 in occupied France, a Jewish refugee (Lena Weber) marries a soldier (Michel Korski) to escape deportation to Germany...

Plot Keywords:

Deportation | Jewish | 1942 | Marriage | Lyon

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Miou-Miou	...	Madeleine
Isabelle Huppert	...	Lena Weber
Guy Marchand	...	Michel Korski
Jean-Pierre Bacri	...	Costa Segara
Robin Renucci	...	Raymond
Patrick Bauchau	...	Carlier
Jacques Alric	...	Mr. Vernier
Jacqueline Doyen	...	Mme Vernier
Saga Blanchard	...	Sophie
Guillaume Le Guellec	...	René
Christine Pascal	...	Sarah
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacques Blal	...	Lionel Feldman
Bernard Cazassus	...	Le chef de gare
Gérard Chambre
Patricia Champane	...	Florence
François Cluzet	...	Un militaire
Jean-Claude de Goros	...	Le patron du cabaret
Norton de Matos	...	Journaliste (as Luís Norton de Matos)
Anne Fabien	...	La femme élégante
Dominique Lavanant	...	L'aboyeuse
Denis Lavant	...	Un militaire
Anne Lévy	...	Maria
Sonia Pfirmann	...	Louisa Feldman
Pascal Pistacio	...	Un militaire
Joseph Michael Roth	...	Un Militaire
Serge Ruben	...	André Feldman
Nils Tavernier	...	Le milicien

Also Known As:

Entre Nous (Australia) (USA)
At First Sight (UK)
Between Us (International: English title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:11 | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France

Company:

Alexandre Films

Trivia:

The movie is based on Diane Kurys' parents and the woman that came between them.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the celebration following Liberation, the U.S. flag has 50 stars. At that time there would have been a 48-star flag.

Glowing praise

Diane Kurys made four films out of her childhood and adolescent experience; that's one of the richest mining for memories in cinematic history. Besides Coup de foudre/Entre nous, there are C'est la vie, Diabolo menthe/Peppermint soda, and Cocktail Molotov (which I have commented on). Kurys's experience is growing up Jewish in post-war France, where the social values are secular but the traditions of the community she belongs to are not.

The story of Lena and Michel may seem bizarre to North Americans--they meet and marry on the same day to escape deportation to the death camps--but it must have seemed quite understandable to the people who had to live through that madness. That Michel loves Lena passionately while she finds him dull and vulgar is also normal. These people are making-do with what they've been given, as are Madeleine and Costa, the other unhappy couple.

You either love or hate Isabelle Huppert--I must admit to the latter many times over the years, but Miou-Miou is worth whatever the rental or purchase price for this picture is: she's just wonderful; the smallest gesture of her hand carries so much meaning. One great scene has Costa, the world's worst businessman, bent over the sewing machine trying to add sleeves to shirts with only one sleeve that he's bought on the black market; Madeleine stands in the next room working at a sculpture, simultaneously trying to console Costa and quietly make him realize what a mess their lives have become.