Completely touches the heart with its slow pace and underlying themes.
With a pace that was a little slow, it reflects the reality of life’s true pace in love, ageing and grief.
Multiple award-winning actress Léa Seydoux is Sandra, a widowed mother caring for the needs of her father Georg Kienzler (Pascal Greggory), her daughter Linn (Camille Leban Martins) and her family. Sandra is in the process of mourning an ageing parent, in this case her father, whose health is rapidly declining with a neurodegenerative disease.
With the added element of her father’s life being in philosophy and books, her grief feels more pronounced in this film, as with his mind being lost, he is absent whilst still alive. Seydoux’s performance strongly reflects this suffering, as she goes about her duties with an air of inner melancholy that clouds everything else in her life.
A chance encounter with her friend Clément (Melvil Poupaud) provides an outlet where she is able to have some joy, yet this joy also comes with suffering, as his marriage translates to an inability for him to present in all her times of need. As the film progresses, it is mainly focused the agony Sandra endures, with the uncertainty of their future. What choice does Clément make?
One of the songs in the film echoes ‘Love still remains’. It is explored in multiple ways throughout the film. The romantic love of Clément and Sandra, the motherly love between Sandra and Linn, and the enduring love that exists through family ties. Sandra, along her sister Elodie (Sarah Le Picard) both want the best hospice for their dad, yet they are strongly supported by Sandra’s mother and Georg’s ex-wife Françoise (Nicole Garcia) who remains actively involved in obtaining the best for Georg, who she divorced twenty years prior. Francoise is re-partnered happily with Michel (Pierre Meunier).
Georg also has a companion, Leila (Fejria Deliba), and despite having a blank or confused mind in all other ways, he is acutely aware of missing her; she is the only one he waits for each minute, each day. A particularly poignant scene flashes in my head, so well filmed and portrayed that it seems too genuine to be acted. It is when Georg and Leila bow their heads together as he sits on the hospital bed, each deliciously excited to be with each other and aware of the precious moments of time they have together. It is particularly beautiful as their love for each other shines through in this scene despite his deterioration and for me, it is highly symbolic of the theme – love still remains regardless of the body, age or situation.
Greggory’s ability to embody the character of Georg is powerful. He cleverly displays the man that was and the man that is. Greggory and Seydoux are the central characters in this film, and it is their strong skills that give this film its depth. The plot itself however is nothing particularly interesting, and the characters are not unique, nor is the story.
Nevertheless, One Fine Morning is an excellent watch. It will be cathartic for those that are caring for an elderly parent, suffering in love, or grieving someone who is alive. It won the Best European Film Award 2022 at the Cannes Film Festival, along with other multiple nominations and selections.
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