Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Thérèse Liotard | ... | Suzanne Galibier - puis Aubanel | |
Valérie Mairesse | ... | Pauline alias Pomme | |
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Robert Dadiès | ... | Jérôme |
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Mona Mairesse | ... | La mère de Pomme |
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Francis Lemaire | ... | Le père de Pomme |
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François Courbin | ... | Mathieu - 9 mois |
Ali Rafie | ... | Darius | |
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Gisèle Halimi | ... | Gisèle Halimi |
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Salomé Wimille | ... | Marie - 3 ans |
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Nicole Clément | ... | La prof de philo |
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Jean-Pierre Pellegrin | ... | Docteur Pierre Aubanel |
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Joëlle Papineau | ... | Joëlle |
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Micou Papineau | ... | Micou |
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Doudou Greffier | ... | Doudou |
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Dane Porret | ... | Le rocker yéyé |
The intertwined lives of two women in 1970s France, set against the progress of the women's movement in which Agnes Varda was involved. Pomme and Suzanne meet when Pomme helps Suzanne obtain an abortion after a third pregnancy which she cannot afford. They lose contact but meet again ten years later. Pomme has become an unconventional singer, Suzanne a serious community worker - despite the contrast they remain friends and share in the various dramas of each others' lives, in the process affirming their different female identities. Written by Alison Smith <mla22@cc.keele.ac.uk>
The highly acclaimed French filmmaker Agnes Varda, who recently passed at the age of 90, wrote and directed this sweeping saga. It centers on the friendship of Pauline (Valerie Mairesse) and Suzanne (Therese Liotard) over the course of two decades the 1960's and 70's.
The two women will occasionally meet over the years but a lot of their communication will be by postcard. They're both active feminists and willing to help other women with pregnancies and actions to take against what they consider to be oppressive abortion laws, giving the film relevance in today's times.
Overall, I just found this movie to be bristling with vitality, but presented in a low-key style, as the two women grapple with relationships, families, and life itself. The acting by Mairesse and Liotard, and the supporting cast, is natural and their characters believable, in my opinion. For those viewers that enjoy sweeping foreign films there's a lot to like here.