Dedicated (and partially written by) to René Ferret ,an unsung director who produced a lot of intimate chronicles ("la communion solennelle""baptême" ) and stories of people who are not like the other ones ("histoire de Paul " "le mystère Alexina ") and are thus considered outcasts.
Aurélie is a waitress in a restaurant ;she takes care of an old man ; it's obvious she was never able to get over her fathers' death -she often visits his grave -Her mother is a good one ,and she urges her daughter to marry ,she would go as far as to let her follow her new lover in Africa .
This new lover may represent the moment she's waiting to arise : he's older than her,which makes sense, because of the departed father ; he is a mysterious man, a would be rep with an incredible gift of the gab (the scene where he sells more or less useful stuff to an old lady is a good moment of fun) ; like in the golden age of the pr-WW2 French cinema , his dream is to open a restaurant in Africa where she would be the boss , no longer a waitress: but is he true or is it make believe?
There's sometimes heavy symbolism :the cuckoo who steals the other birds' net, the dress of yesteryear.
But most of the realistic scenes ring true and filming on location in Corrèze is splendid indeed ;besides , all the cast is convincing ,particularly Myriam Boyer ,as the loving mom.
This film is rather underrated, but it's possible that the "feel-good" atmosphere which mars the contemporary French scene goes against this wistful chronicle and its unexpected tragic denouement.
