One Fine Morning

One Fine Morning - Un beau matin (2022) is a romantic drama film written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, starring Léa Seydoux, Pascal Greggory, Melvil Poupaud and Nicole Garcia. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, winning the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film. It tells the story of Sandra (Seydoux), a widow and translator who cares for her father, Georg (Greggory), a former philosophy teacher with neurodegenerative disease. She meets Clément (Poupaud), a married chemical cosmologist who has returned from a work expedition at the North Pole, and they start an affair.

The film explores the themes of love, loss, memory and mortality through the parallel stories of Sandra and Georg. Sandra is trying to cope with her grief and loneliness while also facing the challenges of finding a suitable nursing home for her father, who is gradually losing his cognitive and sight abilities. Georg struggles to hold on to his identity and dignity as he experiences hallucinations and confusion. He often talks about his girlfriend, Leila, whom he met in Algeria during the war. Clément is a catalyst for Sandra's emotional awakening, as he shows her a different perspective on life and science. He takes her to his lab, where he studies the origin of the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

The film is shot beautifully by Denis Lenoir, who captures the contrast between the urban and natural landscapes and the changing seasons. The score by Nicolas Godin is subtle and atmospheric, enhancing the film's mood. The acting is superb, especially by Seydoux and Greggory, who convey their characters' complex emotions with nuance and sensitivity. Seydoux portrays Sandra as a strong but vulnerable woman torn between her duty and desire. Greggory delivers a heartbreaking performance as Georg, who is aware of his condition but tries to maintain his sense of humour and curiosity.

The pace could be faster and more varied; some scenes feel unnecessary or repetitive. The dialogue is lacking in naturalism and spontaneity. The relationship between Sandra and Clément is not very convincing or compelling, as they lack chemistry and depth. The film also avoids addressing ethical and moral issues, such as the impact on their respective families.

One Fine Morning - Un beau matin (2022) is a touching and thoughtful film that deals with universal themes realistically and humanly. It is not a typical romantic drama but a meditation on life, death, love, and memory. It is a film that will make you feel both sad and hopeful, as it shows the beauty and fragility of human existence.

My Impressions:

Léa Seydoux's outstandingly natural acting and Melvil Poupaud's intimate chemistry with her character made "One Fine Morning" feel meaningful, relatable, and special.

This French movie captured a lot of life's simple moments. I suggest watching it with subtitles, if you don't speak the language.

Smart pacing made the story run smoothly from one scene to the next. Together, each sequence built upon the themes that came before it and stirred deep emotions, like a favourite piece of music is known to do.

Sandra was a widow and took care of her daughter as well as her mentally challenged father, who had a neurodegenerative disease called Benson Syndrome. She was drawn to a single dad named Clément, whom she used to know back in the day.

Tender love, earnest longing, and the need to balance those with their own personal lives - and the people already in them - defined Clément and Sandra's character arcs in this quintessentially French film.

A classic continental style graced the romance and desire angles in "One Fine Morning". These were elegantly counterbalanced by themes relating to family, hope, confusion, frustration, and loss.

The movie was not slow, rather carefully paced. In fact, "Un Beau Matin" ("One Fine Morning") was a great example of what real filmmaking is all about. It dignified its characters by properly portraying their humanity and telling their stories in no uncertain terms.

Hair-makeup and costume design were great. Art direction and set decoration were good. Editing and sound effects were notable. Music and Cinematography was engaging. Screenplay and Direction were amazing.

This female director, guilty of this terrific little drama, has alreaady commited other ones of this kind. So realistic stories, so close to real life, always pulled by awesome, convincing performances. Lea Seydoux, Pascal Gregory, Melvil Poupaud, Nicole Garcia...A dream team in a cast to tell a so gripping, but also painful story about love, the end of life. It is impossible to stay cold blooded, iced, watching such a story. Impossible not to love such a film. I highly prefer seeing this than a most of crime flicks; and I am a great crime movies lover. But French dramas of this kind, I will never get tired of them. Never.

Mia Hansen-Love's new film "Un beau matin" tells the story of a single mother, played by the fantastic Léa Seydoux, who has to take care of her sick father after he has been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease. At the same time, she falls in love for the first time after the death of her daughter's father a few years back. "Un Beau Matin" is a very conventional Parisian drama, which nonetheless unfolds quickly with a strong energy which makes it stand out from similar films.

Hansen-Love explores love in different variations by switching almost episodically between the protagonist's three relationships: the alienated father who's not able to recognise her after a while, the lover who is cheating on his wife and her daughter whom she has to raise alone. In all these relationships, the film searches for moments of truth, and it finds them, for example in a beautiful scene in which the protagonist explains to her daughter how and why she recognises her father rather in his books than when she actually spends time with him.

It's a film full of honesty and comprehension, and Léa Seydoux is as usual fantastic at embodying the young woman who is torn between the three relationships, trying to fulfil their expectations while suffering themselves from the difficulties. In quiet but meaningful scenes, Mia Hansen-Love deals with the sickness of her own father by humanising the decision of letting go for the sake of others, and ultimately yourself.

I liked this movie because I like Lea Seydoux, like the subdued yet deep acting of French actors and their stories, yet struggled to understand how it ended and what the point was. It felt like I rode a bus and really enjoying the ride, waiting to reach the final destination, only to get there and not remember why I went, to begin with. I struggle, even now, to make it to the requisite 600 words to create a review, because that is the point-- I do not know what else to say. I am by no means dull and have a penchant for watching international movies that are quite gems, but did not see what the whole point at the end was. I did thoroughly enjoy the characters of this movie. Lea is, as always, an outstanding actress.