Suzanne

Excellent tearjerker, presented in episodes of one life (Suzanne's, duh) in the course of many years, from childhood to motherhood, etc... What makes the film special is how wisely those episodes are chosen, exposing a great deal of information in a very effective way for each case, and this is sustained throughout the entire runtime, right until the end. It is effective as we learn both what is shown and what underlies it, with precise cinematic language, and the accumulated emotional charge is never excessive, there is no fanfare but a gentle, deep and steady melancholy. I was engaged and this 90s minutes telling of half a life passed me by like a teary breeze, every scene matters. Researching Adèle Haenel's filmography is a great idea, highly recommended, she doesn't do bad films.

Stunning film. I'm speechless. The acting is so raw and present. My heart broke over and over again.

There's a lot to like in Katell Quillévéré's film 'Suzanne', the story of a woman who's life drifts out of control: its great sense of natural warmth and emotion, and the delicate, poignant soundtrack. Credit should go to the two young actresses at its heart. But the film lacks the intensity you might expect in a story of self-destructiveness: it's episodic nature spares us from the gloom of Suzanne's lowest moments in a way that doesn't feel wholly honest and undermines the context of the happier scenes. Another way of putting it is that the film lacks a fixed perspective: we see Suzanne's life neither quite as she sees it, nor as anyone else does. But Quillévéré is clearly a natural talent: she will make great films in future, even if this one isn't quite there.

I had heard so many wonderful things about Suzanne and so I went into it with great expectations only to have them dashed.

Suzanne is less of a movie than a series of vignettes. I don't have a problem with unstructured or loosely structured movies, but with Suzanne the movie covers such a broad amount of time (over 20 years) and is so short (90 or so minutes) that it feels jolting to watch as children bloom into adults abruptly with no transitions between scenes.

Loosely, the film follows the Merevsky family which consists of a father and two daughters after their mother dies. The family is working class, and the father works as a truck driver with long absences, but they are close knit. Suzanne is the eldest and she falls pregnant with a son that she raises as a single mother with her family. Sometime later she falls in love with a low-level drug dealer and things go south for the two of them as they can't keep away from one another, nor can they find a more lucrative means of employment.

The acting is very good and director Quillévéré has a beautiful eye for making the movie feel cinematic despite the very basic subject matter, but again, the plot is so scattered and he vignettes go by so quickly it's hard to care.

A missed opportunity, especially with so much talent behind and in front of the camera.

Well if you don't like French cinema's style, you will probably not like this one either, bit its your loss. Its a really good movie, I loved it. Very human, about a young girl and her sister who lost their mother when they were babies, and who fell into many difficulties of unpredictable, passionate life. Two working class girls and their father love each other enormously, but the life is not sparing them, with all its turmoils.I actually love the script of this movie. While it seems that everything which is happening is caused by the older sister's unfortunate affair, its just simply their honest, simple, non-calculated nature that is ruining all of them, but also give them some strength in difficult moments. I also see why Adele Haenel got the Cesar for the supporting role, her performance is heavenly in this film. All the cast is really good. Corinne Masiero showing up in a small role, for me that is always a plus. I love this. One of the better films of French cinema in the last ten years.