Noce blanche

François (Bruno Cremer) teaches philosophy at high school; Mathilde (Vanessa Paradis) is his pupil. This lyrical and heart-rending melodrama maps their turbulent relationship.

François is fifty and teaches philosophy at a lyceum in Saint-Etienne. He notices that one of his pupils, Mathilde, is often away from school. A chance encounter with the teenage girl takes him to her home. Mathilde lives alone, she has run away from her parents. François falls for her sparkling character and, to help her, he gives her extra tuition. His fascination for her changes to infatuation and the feeling is mutual. His wife is broken by it. François tries to convince Mathilde that their love has no future, but the girl starts to pester François and his wife. The lyrical and heartrending Noce blanche, filmed as a classic tragedy, is reminiscent of the grand melodramas of olden times. The skies are pale and faded, nature is icy; silences and words hurt. Everywhere is haunted by suffering. With razor-sharp suspense, the film moves towards the ultimate drama, the sublime beautiful of unconditional love. Like Brisseau’s other work, Noce blanche describes the journey of two people who differ greatly from each other. Despite this impossible love, the power of their faith in the other makes it possible for them to change their lives, for Mathilde through death and the purification of her love, for François through the victory of reason. –IFFR