Un monde presque paisible (2002)
Directed by Michel Deville

Film Review

The subject of Un monde presque paisible is perhaps the most worthy that director Michel Deville has tackled to date - a portrait of a small Jewish community struggling to live with the aftershock of the Holocaust.  It must be said that Deville is probably not the best director for this kind of film - his idiosyncratic cinematic style and overtly cynical view of human nature greatly would seem to diminish whatever pathos or emotional depth the story may have.  However, Deville is surprisingly restrained here and the film is better than one might have expected.  Some touching performances from an exceptional cast bring out the extent of the tragedy inherent in the situation, and it is hard not to be moved by some of the film's more poignant sequences.  A somewhat uneven film, a little marred by some unnecessary stylistic excesses, but a worthy and attractive film all the same.

Film Synopsis

The Second World War and the Nazi Occupation have taken their toll on Jewish families living in Paris.  Now that these painful experiences are behind them, one couple, Albert and Léa, set about re-starting their small tailoring business in a busy Jewish district of the capital.  It is the summer of 1946 and there is a mood of optimism in the air as the couple begin equipping their workshop, taking on new staff in an atmosphere of cooperation and conviviality.

Things may be looking up now for this happy little community but the emotional scars of what they have recently been through continue to rankle.  The despicable behaviour of a minority of French people, the flagrant anti-Semitic attitude of the government and the monstrous brutality of the Nazis... These are things that no Jew living in France during the Occupation could ever forget, or even forgive.  But now the war is over, nothing more than a sorry page in the history books.  It is time for Albert and his friend to move on, to set the past to one side and embrace what the future offers them...