The Separation

This is a carefully crafted study of the break-up of a marriage. The subtle and powerful performances of Daniel Auteuil and Isabelle Huppert as the couple in question, and Vincent's well-paced direction of a good quality script, deliver a film that does not fall into the usual cliches of this genre.

Well worth seeing.

A sober exploration of the disintegration (in mid-course apparently) of a relationship whose breach is spurred by selfishness and a callous disregard for "the other" and a child. Such disregard then leads to betrayal, devastation (of the betrayed), indecision and disorientation of the betrayed---and the death of the relationship and of reality as it was understood beforehand. The betrayed is left with no longer certain of what was ever real, and what can ever be real again with any degree of certainty. Ultimately, one understands why Dantes 9th and lowest circle of hell belong to those who betrayed their ultimate commitments. Watch the film. If you haven't been "there," you will feel it indirectly. If you have been "there," you will live it over again and find some degree of resonance and solidarity with Pierre, who is lost in so many ways at the film's end.....and can't even find his way "home." After all, Home" is gone forever.

This was a pretty odd film in that there isn't a whole lot of context for what is occurring and there really isn't any resolution as well. Instead of the typical Hollywood-style film with a firm beginning, middle and end to wrap everything together, this movie is more like a slice taken out of a real couple's marriage--like the viewer is peering in through a keyhole just as a marriage is dissolving. You see the couple in crisis but why and how this all turns out isn't there. Now for some viewers, this will no doubt be maddening--they NEED this information to enjoy the film. However, if you suspend your need for this information and just watch, you'll see that the actors and writers really do a great job of exploring PEOPLE. This really doesn't look like actors acting, but looks like a reality show of sorts. Because of this, this is an exceptional movie technically and gives an unflinching view of heartbreak and loss.

In Paris, Pierre (Daniel Auteuil) and Anne (Isabelle Huppert) have been living together for a couple of years and they have the eighteen-month son Loulou (Louis Vincent), who stays with the nanny Laurence (Laurence Lerel) during the day while they work. Their best friends are the couple Victor (Jérôme Deschamps) and Claire (Karin Viard), who also are not married but live together.

Out of the blue, Pierre feels Anne distant from him and soon she discloses that she is in love with another man. Pierre seems to accept her affair but their relationship goes downhill, and Pierre becomes violent with her.

"La Séparation" is the most realistic and mature film about the end of a relationship, with the sequential phases of the separation process of a couple. The viewer does not need to have self-experience to understand, since he or she might have witnessed this type of process with friends of them. Daniel Auteuil is perfect in the role of Pierre and the bitch Anne is tailored for the magnificent actress Isabelle Huppert.

The conclusion is unexpected, but sometimes it may happen when the couple has just divorced. It is not totally clear or conclusive what Anne may expect from Pierre after her betrayal and bad treatment, but if Pierre accepts to return to her, their relationship will probably not last for a long period. In their first fight, they will split again and will not be friends anymore. This great film does not age and seems to be better and better each time the viewer sees it. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Separação" ("The Separation")

Note: The first time I saw this film was on 23 April 2000.

On 16 February 2017, I saw this film again. Would Anne really have a lover?

La Separation makes you realize the value of true acting ability. Danilel Auteuil & Isabelle Huppert give a masterclass. I never thought that I'd be glad Juliette Binoche didn't turn up for work. The story has all the makings of a soap opera, but the thing that lifts this film is the simply marvelous acting. In other hands I think this movie would slip quietly onto the French equivalent of the Lifetime channel. There are no silences. In this movie one look speaks a thousand words. I struggle to think of any other movie where I have been so entranced by the pure acting of the male and female leads. More emotionally draining than Casablanca. This is a real weepy. Why? Because the acting makes you live the pain.