Firelight - Le lien secret

When I first saw a preview of this film, I imagined "oh, just another remake of Jane Eyre". But, because of my liking for Sophie Marceau and my love of "Jane Eyre", I rented it...and I loved it.

This film takes a unique perspective, concentrating more upon the relationship between mother and daughter, rather than the romance between mother and father. Though the story is an oft-told one, this is a film whose magic will grasp you, just as the mentioned firelight within.

Sophie Marceau gives a wonderful performance as Elisabeth, combining her lovely face with the warmth of any mother towards her child. Stephen Dillane is also very good, but I was entirely *riveted* by Dominique Belcourt as little Louisa. Her performance had no artifice---she had no problem acting like the little brat, then slowly beginning to soften as she discovered what a life could be without hating everyone other than her father.

The costumes were as good as any other recent period film and the sets were *gorgeous*, especially the famous "lake house".

Therefore, despite a plot everyone knows, "Firelight" utterly charmed me and held me spellbound even after its conclusion.

A wonderful photographed movie with a convincingly playing Sophie Marceau. Absolutely recommendable for fans of historical romances.

The artistry of this movie is not evident the first time you watch it because you notice nothing but the actors' brown eyes and the blue cold rooms of the mansion.

But watch it a few more times and you realize how balanced the story is, how themes of birth and death parallel heat and cold, love and hate.

The script is simple because silence and secrecy drive the plot. Compared to Jane Eyre, it is rather sparse, but so what?

I gave it a 10.

No film can be all things to all people. However, "Firelight", a simple film which when taken in and of itself, is no less than a masterpiece. From a carefully crafted minimalistic script to superb acting by a few well cast and well directed principals to artful cinematography and lush scenic beauty, this little film is powerfully compelling. "Firelight" explores the depths of passion, desire, and love amidst the circumstance and social order of 19th century England using elegantly subtle brushstrokes. This film will be most appreciated by mature audiences.

This is a wonderful movie about how a woman's love can overcome major obstacles. Sophie Marceau is a beautiful governess, who seven years prior was hired by a rich Englishman to conceive a baby because the man's own wife had been seriously injured but did not die after a riding accident. Marceau's motivation is to pay her father's debts and get him out of prison. Thus the two principal characters are having this weekend "affair" out of a sense of duty to others. Unlike many movies set in the mid-19th century, the rich people in this movie are not one dimensional and heartless, and the poor people are not powerless victims. Marceau manages to track down her child after 6 years and becomes her governess. The girl has become a spoiled brat, and Marceau is the first to teach the girl how to read, and much about life. There is not exactly a happy ending, in the Hollywood sense. In order to get something, one must take risks and be willing to give up other things.