Peaceful

A harsh subject , treated with modesty by a woman director , with two great actors ;I've never been a fan of Deneuve or Magimel ,but in these thankless parts ,they won me over ; both are admirable ,it takes all Deneuve's talent to avoid the over-possessive-mom routine and to show her rebellion against the inescapable ; her last message to her son's students (he's a dramatic art teacher) is a great scene ,it is as though the actress ,nearing 80, passed the baton to the young generation .

Matching her every step of the way is Magimel's performance of a terminally ill patient , who still teaches while he can :the first scene in the theatre looks like a group psychotherapy ( saying farewell) whereas it's a rehearsal ; it's a rehearsal for the final adieu anyway ....He goes as far as to play opposite his student in his hospital bed .

The screenplay is marred, IMHO ,by a cliché: the long lost son, who 's never known his father (who probably found his name :Léandre ,like in Molière's "les fourberies de Scapin") and of course lives in a faraway country; hence the obligatory scenes in English , so a la mode dans le cinema français ; moreover,from the Everly bros 's "bye bye love" to "go down ,Moses ", all the songs are in English ; we're in France,dash it! The sons' interventions are the only moments when Bercot falls into facile melodrama .

But let's not forget the two superb supporting acts by Gabriel A Sara and Cecile De France ;the former portrays an almost too human doctor ,whose commitment to his work is extraordinary ;always finding the wise words ,when there's nothing to hope , practising group therapy with his staff and his patients , his method includes music ,dance and joie de vivre ("what's that chaos? " a nonplussed Deneuve asks) ; Cecile De France gives a wonderful performance too, her luminous face reflects all the compassion in the world .Both actors sometimes steal the show from the principals ,not a small feat.