Clair de femme (1979)
Directed by Costa-Gavras

Film Review

Clair de femme is not the kind of film you would associate with director Costa-Gavras.  Best known for his high profile political thrillers, such as Z (1969) and État de siege (1973), Costa-Gavras also directed this low-key romantic drama, which brings together two icons of French cinema, Yves Montand and Romy Schneider (both in the twilight of their film careers).  Although it is far from being the director's best film, it was a significant commercial success in France.

This is the kind of film which the French tend to do very well - a slow-paced, character-driven drama in which a middle aged man and woman fall in love in the midst of the worst kind of mid-life crisis.  If Claude Sautet had directed this film, it would probably have been a masterpiece.  Lacking experience with this genre of film, Costa-Gavras gives us a significantly lesser work, but one which is nonetheless poignant - and occasionally insightful.  Romy Schneider's performance is particularly memorable, with the actress exposing a far darker and more tortured soul than ever before  - a reflection of her troubled personal life at the time or a presentiment of the the greater tragedy that was to come?

Film Synopsis

Michel finds himself at a loose end, walking the streets one night as his wife lies slowly dying from an incurable malady.  Unable to bear the pain of her illness any longer, Michel's wife has decided to end her life, but before doing so she implores her husband to seek out another love after she has gone and make a new life for himself.  Michel's plan is to leave France and take a plane to Caracas, but when he arrives at the airport he has second thoughts.  As he drifts around Paris contemplating his future Michel comes into contact with Lydia, a middle-aged woman who has her own share of woes.   Lydia has recently lost her daughter in a car accident, the same accident which resulted in her husband sustaining crippling cerebral injuries.  It appears to be a providential encounter - two lost souls desperately in need of affection and emotional support - but is Lydia really the ideal replacement partner that his wife had envisaged for him, or merely a fleeting encounter, destined to vanish from his life in the morning...?