Mademoiselle Chambon (2009)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 42 | Rotten: 9
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 13
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 2,114
Movie Info
Two adults struggle to avoid letting their erotic passion for one another guide them into infidelity in this subtly erotic, understated chamber drama from France. Vincent Lindon stars as Jean, a burly blue-collar mason who lives semi-contentedly with his wife, Anne-Marie (Aure Atika), and son, Jérémy (Arthur Le Houérou), in some unspecified provincial French town. Little passion exists in Jean's life -- until his path crisscrosses with that of Véronique Chambon (Sandrine Kiberlain), his son's
Jun 11, 2010 Wide
Dec 7, 2010
$0.5M
Lorber Films
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Sandrine Kiberlain
Véronique Chambon, Vér... -
Vincent Lindon
Jean -
Aure Atika
Anne-Marie -
Jean-Marc Thibault
The Father -
Arthur Le Houérou
Jérémy, Jérémy, J?r?m... -
Bruno Lochet
Workmate Jean 1 -
Abdallah Moundy
Workmate Jean 2 -
Anne Houdy
Funeral Director -
Michèle Goddet
School Principal
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Mademoiselle Chambon Trailer & Photos
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (9) | DVD (1)
A heartbreaking, ambiguous twist on 'Brief Encounter', railway station finale and all. Take hankies.
Top CriticA charmingly direct film of simple contrasts about the difficulty of change.
One way to think of Mademoiselle Chambon (a chambon is a piece of a horse's halter) is as Brief Encounter as reimagined by Eric Rohmer.
Mademoiselle Chambon is moving in spots, but it doesn't stir you the way the best films about heartache do. You feel for these two star-crossed lovers, then forget about them the moment the movie is over.
Mademoiselle Chambon is about love in midlife, about two souls meeting, and how that can be the most beautiful thing in the world but also the most inconvenient.
Brizé does score a nifty variation on the clichéd rushing-to-meet-destiny climax. But this encounter, brief indeed at a mere 90 minutes, doesn't fully convince.
By paring everything right down, director Stéphane Brizé elegantly proves that less really is more.
It's a touching, measured, well-observed film that uses music (the teacher is a trained violinist) skilfully.
Understated, powerfully emotional drama that plays like an updated French version of Brief Encounter, thanks to a superb script and terrific performances from Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kilberlain.
An impossible romance that is expressed delicately and without recourse to more than mild erotica.
Slow your pace and pause for breath and there's a world of pleasure to be had from this unhurried small-town tragedy.
Too much of Stéphane Brizé's film is elegant water-treading, but there are candid little scenes, and one of those will-they-won't-they, Brief Encounter denouements that never go out of fashion.
It hauls its bucket up slowly. We're not sure till the end, or even then, if there is much water in it.
A subtle and sensual character study.
A familiar tale lent richness by note-perfect turns and stealthy storytelling.
The main characters' desires are so deeply submerged, hidden not only from each other than from themselves, that it's a shock when even the tiniest, most tentative endearment is expressed.
Much of the time the audience is left staring as intently as the characters, trying to figure out what these people are thinking, and why we should care.
Stephane Brizi's "Mademoiselle Chambon" is a remarkably moving effort, thanks to two superbly down-to-earth performances.
The most powerful of emotions are indicated not by dialogue, but with the smallest of gestures and changes in expression.
Director Stéphane Brizé fills the drama with pregnant silences and the two actors make the most of them. But it may not be for everyone.
The lovers' waltz is quietly heartbreaking.
Directed by Cesar award-winning Stephane Brize and based on a 2001 novel by French writer Eric Holder, "Mademoiselle Chambon" unfolds in a series of quiet, middle-distance shots.
...a nearly perfect film."
Audience Reviews for Mademoiselle Chambon
Super Reviewer
Vincent Lindon plays a middle-aged man in a content but uninteresting marriage. He becomes friendly with his son's schoolteacher, and before he knows what has hit him, he is parking his car outside her apartment to watch her come and go. He's no stalker; he's falling in love. She's feeling exactly the same way.
The depiction of ordinary people falling in love is incredibly beautiful, among the best I've ever seen. Brize chooses to under-write it. The characters are not very verbal. Their feelings come out more in their eyes and body language, and the way they stumble and feel awkward around each other. Awkward and happy and hopeful. It's just delightful to watch. Brize apparently had a remarkable rapport with the actors during the shoot. The three of them are so completely on the same page, and they deliver the emotions of these characters with such compassion and clarity.
After the joy of watching them become smitten with each other, it's agony to watch them feel the pain of realizing the intractability of their situation. He's married with one child in school and another one on the way. His marriage might not be great, but it's not bad. And he's got huge responsibilities to his children. What a dilemma.
--unfinished--
Super Reviewer
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Mademoiselle Chambon features strong performances by Sandrine Kiberlain and Vincent Lindon as the two lead characters. Their characters are built on silence and subtle looks that make them fun to watch.
The film's plot is meandering, taking far too long to get from point A to point B with few complications in between. It's slow, but it's slow in a way that I've grown accustomed to in modern French cinema.
What is more, I'm not sure what the film is saying. Is it merely privileging a content marriage with a passionate affair? If so, such an aphorism has been said often and with greater effect.
Overall, Mademoiselle Chambon has strong performances, but the story is lacking in clarity and dimension.