Synopsis
After the death of her mother, Anne makes a shocking discovery: an old photograph casts doubt on her origins and leads her to discover a mysterious uncle who lived with her parents after the war. As she lifts the lid on a long forgotten family secret, the young woman learns that her mother once succumbed to an amorous passion that was as intense as it was short-lived...
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Cast
- Benoît MagimelMichel
- Mélanie ThierryLena
- Nicolas DuvauchelleJean
- Sylvie TestudAnne
- Denis PodalydèsMaurice
- Julie FerrierTania
- Clotilde HesmeMadeleine
- Clément SibonySacha
- Marc RuchmannPaul
- Jean-Claude Bolle-ReddatLe juge
Recommendations
- 75
New York Post
The striking Thierry brings her character to nuanced life on screen. - 70
Arizona Republic
For a Woman, Diane Kurys' semi-autobiographical film, benefits greatly from its intimate nature, in which a woman discovers secrets from her family's past. - 70
Los Angeles Times
There's storytelling vigor here and fine performances, plus some pointed exchanges about the burdens of cultural identity and emotional preservation in the aftermath of immense upheaval. - 60
The New York Times
The 1980s sequences, with their tears and epiphanies, are less vivid and less convincing. An inviting sense of mystery hangs over the events of 1947, Ms. Kurys’s origin story. - 58
Entertainment Weekly
The acting is largely irreproachable, but the direction is leaden, and the movie just can’t overcome its clunky framing device and nagging air of inauthenticity. - 50
Village Voice
Visually, Kurys offers a mostly conventional, period-handsome widescreen style, which suits her capable actors just fine. The real drawback, though, is the spoon-feeding frame narrative, which takes away from the urgency. - 50
RogerEbert.com
The end result is itself not especially intriguing.
