Stéphane is an emotionally distant but professionally dedicated violin restorer whose cold heart is tested when his employer’s new girlfriend, a beautiful violinist, falls for him. -Synopsis

Stephane (Daniel Auteil) is a restorer of violins; he works for Maxime (Andre Dussollier), who comes from a family known for craftsmanship. These men, though opposites, have built a successful working relationship. While the introverted/reserved Stephane (and his apprentices) work in the background, the extroverted/jovial Maxime charms their (high-maintenance) clients. One day, Maxime is excited to reveal a new/young/beautiful client, Camille (Beart), w/ whom he has fallen in love. Stephane gets to work improving Camille’s violin; she’ll be recording an album soon. One afternoon, Camille is distracted while she plays; Stephane is watching her so intently. When Maxime is busy, Camille seeks to draw Stephane out of his shell. At first, he doesn’t know how to respond; later on (after she has fallen hard for him), he coldly rejects her! Auteil (42 y.o.) and Beart (29 y.o.) were married during the time of filming; this adds another layer to the story.

This unique/thoughtful French film (which I learned about via a Facebook post) was nominated for a BAFTA (Best Film not in the English Language) in 1994. It was chosen to compete at the 49th Venice International Film Festival, where it won 4 awards (tying for the Silver Lion). This is the penultimate film of director Claude Sautet; he collaborated on the script w/ Jacques Fieschi. I will have to look up his other work, as I’d never heard of this filmmaker before. The screenplay is loosely based on the novella Princess Mary by Mikhail Lermontov. Béart learned to play the violin for the part; she took lessons for a year! You can see it on YouTube (4K version).

In typical (Hollywood) movies, the main character usually goes through change or growth; the more you see European films, you’ll notice that this is NOT always the case. This movie raises more questions than it answers, one astute viewer pointed out. Stephane (always dressed formally in suits) stays a mystery to us, as we don’t learn much re: his inner life. In the opening scenes, a voiceover is used; this is done perhaps to trick us into thinking we’ll get to know his mind. We see him having lunch and seeing movies w/ his bookseller friend, Helene; they have a connection of the mind. In the countryside, Stephane spends time w/ his former music teacher (a father figure). Some viewers thought Stephane was loyal to Maxime, so he didn’t want to get involved w/ Camille. Others questioned: Is Stephane even capable of love?

[1] I think it is an engaging and thoughtful movie – the kind that you keep thinking about, long after you have finished watching.

[2] This movie is about human psychology and love. These characters are tormented by a feeling of inadequacy, by strong unresolved love, and deep affection. It’s a modern Greek tragedy. It reminds us of the real human nature, un-linear, never simple. […] This movie manages to remind us this in the context of a difficult love story accompanied by one of the most beautiful scores ever.

[3] A character that holds a violin as if it were the most fragile item in the world, and yet does not hesitate to shatter a woman’s heart… But in the end, as he himself realizes, he is only destroying himself. This movie makes me fall in love with French cinema all over again.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews