Simone, la mujer del siglo

If you don't already know everything about Simone Veil's life and accomplishments, this movie isn't for you. And if you do, you probably won't like it either.

The movie constantly jumps from one period to another, from one subject to another, in an unforgiving 2h20 long artsy montage, mentioning people/organization names or showing them speak, without giving any clue as to who/what they are, so no chance to understand unless you're already an expert on the movie's subject.

Sexism is represented as very easily manageable and unthreatening, antisemitism is absent aside from the arrestations and camps...

I was so enthusiastic for a movie that tells Simone Veil's story, this movie is so not up to the task.

Saw this at the Film Festival in Angoulême and was absolutely shocked by how Jewish suffering during the WW2 was portrayed. The actresses didn't act; they were dolls with too much make-up on and too good of a hairstyle to provoke any sympathy. The structure of the film is pretentious and doesn't work at all. One scene we're seeing images of men in camps in war torn Bosnia, and next scene we're sitting under a moonlit sky in the Mediterranean enjoying a romantic talk. How is this possible? Camera work is ugly; too much steady cam, too many close ups. And don't get me started on the music! Was there even one second when the spectator can catch a breath from the never ending score? No. This director should be banned from making films for life.

Knowing the story of Simone Veil is knowing a bit of the European and French history. She was arrested at 15 because she sang the international outside her home. She was deported by the French government, survived Auschwitz, Death marches, and Bergen-Belsen. She was one of the only females attending the Science Po school at the time, married, had 3 children, decided to get back to her studies against what society wanted from her. She then became one of the first female magistrates, and helped get the prisoners' condition to a humane one. She was appointed as Health Minister and managed to make abortion legal, helped addicts and people suffering from AIDS... She was elected president of the first universally elected European Parliament, the 6th woman to get into to the Académie française, the 5th woman to get into the Panthéon... She fought for the rights of women, she was one of the first politicians to talk about collaboration in France. She was one of the reasons why France and Germany got closer after the war, she fought for Europe as a way to prevent history from happening again. Her life and actions made her a hero for many people in France, which is why a movie was made on her. And what a movie. It is of course a difficult one, but so many things happened to that incredible woman that we need to see it. The movie is a non linear one, which is not my favourite, and sometimes you get bits of stories that don't have any link to the one before, which makes you lose a bit of the plot. But I would still recommend it, at least to see history being made in front of your eyes, by a woman who fought against everything that was thrown against her, for the dignity of the weak.

What an incredible woman, I remember her as a soft spoken woman but with a determination,a force of character, an humanist so much at the opposite of the Donald, the movie was so well realized that the many flashbacks are not to much, the movie start with her remembering her childhood, then her teen, and so on, but also the great moments of her political career, the flashback are used to give us some clues of the sources of stenght of character. The last few phrases that she wrote in the movie are still so a propos with the rise of the narcissistic trumpians in the world, we are so quick to reject the humanity of the Others.

It is always hard to make a movie about someone who as done so much for humanity in every aspect, putting this in 2h20 is a real challenge. The movie is not perfect there is alot that could have been better, but it is still worth watching. There are some really beautiful parts of it too.

It is a carousel of emotions and history.

Knowing the history of Veil which is an endless inspiration, this movie showed some very beautiful and unique moments of her life. It was a mix of hope and melancholy, yet sometimes a little too overplayed and staged.

The movie was showing someone so strong and intellectual in her most vulnerable moments.

The camera also very intense at moments and the focus on the lighting not so bad either.