The Separation

The aptly titled film "The Separation" scrutinizes the disintegration of the relationship between a couple (Huppert & Auteuil). That's it...no more, no less. Superbly acted by two of France's finest at the top of their game, the film has little going for it making it a fringe watch for foreign or French cinema buffs. Not recommended for general consumption. (B-)

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.

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.

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?

Any person who has seen and loved Un coeur en hiver (The Heart in Winter) should see this film as well - it also stars the melancholic Daniel Auteuil. It's almost painful to see him laugh. A film that contrasts the bitterness of betrayal with the sweetness of intimacy, La Séparation delves into the anatomy of a break-up - the growing coolness, lack of concern, estrangement that can exist between two people who still are the primary characters in one another's stories. The couple is not married, but have a home, son, and life in common. Even as they discuss the thing that has come between them, the two cuddle; indeed, were the dialogue silenced for a moment or two, it would be easy to believe they were comforting each other. And indeed, they attempt to soothe each other even as they seem to rend their relationship beyond reconciliation. There is a great reluctance to separate, but is this because of love, comfort, or the fear of starting over? See this movie alone, and don't plan to go dancing afterwards. Buy a bottle of red wine on the way home from the theater (if you are fortunate enough to see it in one).