La femme et le TGV

This will be a short review for a short film that unfortunately feels longer than it actually is.

After a fairly effective beginning, the story immediately begins to tread water. It's repetitive, undramatic and predictable. As for the actors: Jane Birkin regularly appears unsure of what emotion to express, her face saying more about her age than about her characters struggle. Lucien Guignard seems to channel John Travolta's Danny from Grease, which, while amusing, quickly gets stale (which says a lot, considering the the entire film is only thirty minutes long).

Ultimately the film feels like the hundredth iteration of the stereotypical drama about the lonely, sentimental older lady.

Audiences may find it difficult not to fall for the cheesiness (an entire mini refrigerator full!) in this moving, character driven tale based on a true story. Birkin does not disappoint in her performance as an elderly woman desperately holding on to her past ; a bitter woman who tries to run a bakery but most of her heart is dedicated to her daily waving of a flag at a passing train (France's "high speed train")- it is a tradition she once performed with her son and has continued on her own ever since he moved away. It is the sweet potential of a romance in her older age that finally forces her to step outside the limited box her brain has trapped her in all these years.

This is not a love story. Not in the way one would expect. It is a testimony to letting go and always evolving in life.

"P. S. I am about to send my first internet."

Stay for the short after credits scene showing audience members the aforementioned true life individuals this story is inspired by! Only a few seconds, but the heartwarming emotions it evokes are worth the wait.

Heartwarming short story of this lady who is full of life. Great concept and beautiful photography I must say. It's engaging, fun and really well made. Just finished watching on Amazon Prime.

La femme et le TGV (2016)

*** (out of 4)

Elise (Jane Birkin) is a lonely woman who lives alone in a small house that sets right by a TGV track. Each morning she follows the same routine by opening the window by the track and waving a flag. One day she receives a letter from someone on the train who appreciates her gesture and before long the two strike up a relationship.

LA FEMME ET LE TGV is one of the five Oscar-nominated short for Best Live Action. If you're a fan of watching these type of shorts then you should find this one to be rather entertaining, although it does run on a bit too long at thirty-minutes. With that said, for the most part there's a lot of heart and charm to be found in the picture and there's also an extremely good performance by Birkin. She's certainly very believable in the role and helps carry the picture with her touching performance.

It is such a delight of a film! Only the French can make such heart-warming odd romances. I'd say it's one of the best Live Action Shorts, in the romantic genre, that I have seen.