Dir.
Eleonore Faucher, 2004 , France , 89 mins, subtitles
Cast:
Lola Naymark, Ariane Ascaride, Jackie Berroyer, Thomas Laroppe
From the real world comes the incredibly beautiful and deceptively quiet A COMMON THREAD. Director Éléonore Faucher's debut about a pregnant teenager Claire (Lola Naymark) who finds a job with a mourning seamstress Madame Melikian (Ariane Ascaride). Although some may see this as a 'woman's picture', this quiet yet often unsettling drama's insight into difficult human emotions deserves not to be categorised as such. Set in a small town in France , our heroine quits her job at the supermarket out of boredom - an act which immediately endears her to us. It's not bad enough that Claire is pregnant and doesn't know whether she should keep it or not. Working with Melikian isn't easy: the woman's health isn't good and she's just lost her son in a motorcycle accident. The two women should trust each other but don't; both are far too emotionally raw for that. But, thanks to Faucher's light touch and keen observations - for instance, that the young girl cheers up the woman while getting confidence from her - and to the director's control of the two leading players, A Common Thread packs quite an emotional punch, considering that the story is basically about two women who spend a lot of time sewing shiny gewgaws onto designer dresses.
Karen Krizanovich
|
