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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Set in the French Pyrenees in 1943 and loosely based on incidents in the lives of Picasso and Matisse, this is a compelling treatise on the ravages of war and time from director Fernando Trueba. Evoking memories of Jacques Rivette's La Belle Noiseuse and Victor Erice's The Quince Tree Sun, it finds Léa (Claudia Cardinale) offering sanctuary to Spanish Civil War fugitive Mercè (Aida Folch) in the hope that her spirit and beauty will inspire her octogenarian sculptor husband (Jean Rochefort). However, such is Mercè's commitment to the antifascist cause that she risks everything to prevent a Nazi (Götz Otto) from capturing resistance fighter Pierre (Martin Gamet). The performances and visuals are superb, while the screenplay (co-written by Trueba and Jean-Claude Carrière) explores notions of heroism, liberty, inspiration and the preciousness of life with rare intelligence and intensity.

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Credits

Cast

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Marc CrossJean Rochefort
MercèAida Folch
LéaClaudia Cardinale
MaríaChus Lampreave
WernerGotz Otto
HenriMateo Deluz
PierreMartin Gamet
EmileChristian Sinniger

Crew

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DirectorFernando Trueba

Details

Theatrical distributor
Axiom
Released on
2013-09-13
Languages
French | Catalan | Spanish
Formats
Black and white
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