7 ans

Maïté's husband is in prison. For seven years (you get the title). We don't know why he's there but we know they miss each other a lot. Every short prison meeting is filled with "I love yous" and quite a bit of lust. But seven years is a long time. And there's that prison guard that starts to play an interesting role in their relationship.

All three lead actors are doing a good job in this film. The music was well selected. The cinematography is good. The director pays attention to details, which help. Speaking of the director, he was present at the North American premiere of his movie at the Toronto International Film Festival. After the screening, he answered some questions from the audience with the help of an interpreter. It was interesting to hear him talk about the importance of senses (smell, touch...) in his work. It was also nice to hear him talk about what was really important and what was not in the relationship between the three characters. Sometimes, we pay attention to things that we shouldn't. For this film, he told us that he met women whose husbands were in prison. He got inspired by their lives.

Overall then, not a great film, but surely a good way to spend a night at the movie. Seen during the Toronto International Film Festival, at the Varsity Cinemas, on September 8th, 2006.

79/100 (***)