Having already watched an earlier version (1958) of Guy De Maupassants' take on life in the bleak, harsh, Normandy of the 19th century, in which Maria Schell was tailor-made for the leading role and Alexandr Astruc did a fine job behind the camera albeit opting for a non-linear story-line I was drawn to this remake because of the director Stephan Brize, who delivered a small miracle in Not Here To Be Loved, and the outstanding actors Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Yolande Moreau as the parents of the heroine. Brize has opted to shoot this downbeat story with only something like 64 bars of music from start to finish so that great swathes of the film feature only dialogue and FX. Overall this is a good watch in spite of its glass-half empty take on the world.
Review of A Woman's Life
