# Séparation, La (1994)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    LA SEPARATION
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  ***

There are certain unmistakable omens in a long-term relationship. Anne and Pierre, who live together with their adorable toddler, experienced theirs at the cinema.

As Pierre reached over to hold Anne's hand, she pulled it away. When he confronted her with the faux pas later that night, she had a devastatingly, simple answer, "You bothered me."

In LA SEPARATION, a film whose meanings are revealed mainly in subtle nuances of the characters' body language, Anne's outright admission of her displeasure forms one of the story's more explicitly dramatic moments.

Eventually, Anne will nonchalantly tell Pierre that she has fallen in love with someone else -- someone "who pays attention to me." Since Pierre thinks he is particularly attentive to Anne and to their son, on whom he dotes, he is perplexed.

Isabelle Huppert, winner of the French best actress award in 1996 for LA CEREMONIE, plays Anne, the film's enigma. An attractive professional with deep brown eyes, Anne possesses a breezy confidence. She does what she wants in life and isn't the least bit concerned how it might affect those around her. Whether she's happy or sad, she keeps her emotions firmly in check.

Daniel Auteuil, winner of the French best actor award in 1996 for THE EIGHTH DAY, plays Pierre. Strikingly handsome and sweetly sincere, Pierre's personality is as open as Anne's is closed. He is sure and certain that he wants Annie to stay with him, regardless of whether Annie has another lover.

"Every couple goes through crises," one of Pierre's friends advises him. "It's normal." Well, the relationship that Pierre and Anne evolve into isn't.

As an author (the most popular occupation, it seems, in French films), Pierre works at home while a sexually alluring, college-age nanny takes care of their son. Annie doesn't see much of any of them since she meets her other lover after work. Still, as long as she does not leave, Pierre's willing to go along with this. On the surface they look like a completely contented couple.

The story by Dan Franck and the director, Christian Vincent, is as remarkable for the scenes that don't occur as those that do. The big angry outbursts are almost totally absent, and Anne's other lover is only discussed but never shown.

In the typically French style, the characters talk incessantly. Cinematographer Denis Lenoir keeps the camera rigid during these talkfests, letting the two characters' heads and shoulders fill the frame. The movie is a character study, and the director clearly wants us to focus on the two leads. In order to accomplish this, he takes a minimalist approach to the sets and the dramatic actions. LA SEPARATION is a subtle movie in which facial expressions are where the action is.

"A couple's a transient thing," Anne casually but firmly tells Pierre. "It doesn't last forever." Like the band on the Titanic, Anne and Pierre keep going through the motions of the relationship, ignoring the unrepairable hole in the side. But beneath their false calm, they both know it's all over.

LA SEPARATION runs just 1:28. The film is in French with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be PG-13 for a little profanity and mature themes and would be fine for teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com

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