A La Place Du Coeur

To be shown: 11 March 2002

France 1997 (subtitles)
112 minutes
Directed by Robert Guédiguian
Leading players - Laura Raoust, Alexandre O Gou, Ariane Ascaride.

Synopsis

Robert Guédiguian's follow up to Marius et Jeanette is based on James Baldwin's novel If Beale Street Could Talk. The film is an intensely moving examination of two working-class families from Marseilles and tells the story of the love developed from childhood between Clémentine, known as Clim (Laura Raoust) and Bébé (Alexandre O Gou). As we join the characters, Clim is pregnant with Bébé's child while Bébé is in prison, accused of attempted rape. Clim has no choice but to turn to her own family in the hope that they will assist in securing Bébé's innocence and eventually granting the young couple's desire to marry.

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The most remarkable aspect of the film is Guédiguian's ability to extract resonant images from unexpected places and to suffuse a warmth and unanticipated beauty, fuelled by character studies of tremendous dignity and affecting depth. The film received the Special Jury Prize at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival.

Beautifully realised, A La Place Du Coeur is a highly individual and personal piece of work. It is a precious and rare jewel: a film about "la vie" that is free from pretensions and pompousness, a film that is inspiring and that restores one's faith in life itself.