This is a very pleasant "soap opera" style French TV movie, just out in the Americas on "Eurochannel" by the way. It's full of clichés, but blessed with beautiful shots of a recreated post war France, and especially good is its unpredictable ending, which may have made it otherwise tedious viewing.
Basically, it mixes the love (and business) of sports cars, a love triangle (or is it quadrangle?) and plenty of curves above the cliffs of the beautiful French seaside ever influencing the plot.
The script is set in the early 1950's, around the high bourgeois Alberte De Vildrac, a 45 year old widow. She lives alone, though with 2 or 3 servants, on her beautiful estate. She feels lonely, and has given in to monotony. Her sole daughter, Camille, found a mysterious lover in Franz, whom everyone takes for a Lithuanian émigré turned war hero (French Resistance), and car engineer.
The relationship between mother and daughter becomes tense due to their mutual attraction to the handsome war hero. While he asks for Camille in marriage, Franz attempts to seduce Alberte, who though ceding to FGranz' charms, begins to suspect of his true intentions. The convoluted relationship between Alberte and her daughter Camille leads the action, though a couple of profiteers, another male suitor, and the family servants all have a hand in the development of the plot.
The beautiful scenery, cinematography, and classic romance themes all combine to make this a very watchable movie, despite its inherently over worked "romantic novel" traits.
The film is also an interesting take on post World War II France, a recent yet bygone era, and the country's transition from the late 1940s to the modernity of the 1960s and beyond. Its total duration of under 100 minutes also helps to make the film very watchable.
Basically, it mixes the love (and business) of sports cars, a love triangle (or is it quadrangle?) and plenty of curves above the cliffs of the beautiful French seaside ever influencing the plot.
The script is set in the early 1950's, around the high bourgeois Alberte De Vildrac, a 45 year old widow. She lives alone, though with 2 or 3 servants, on her beautiful estate. She feels lonely, and has given in to monotony. Her sole daughter, Camille, found a mysterious lover in Franz, whom everyone takes for a Lithuanian émigré turned war hero (French Resistance), and car engineer.
The relationship between mother and daughter becomes tense due to their mutual attraction to the handsome war hero. While he asks for Camille in marriage, Franz attempts to seduce Alberte, who though ceding to FGranz' charms, begins to suspect of his true intentions. The convoluted relationship between Alberte and her daughter Camille leads the action, though a couple of profiteers, another male suitor, and the family servants all have a hand in the development of the plot.
The beautiful scenery, cinematography, and classic romance themes all combine to make this a very watchable movie, despite its inherently over worked "romantic novel" traits.
The film is also an interesting take on post World War II France, a recent yet bygone era, and the country's transition from the late 1940s to the modernity of the 1960s and beyond. Its total duration of under 100 minutes also helps to make the film very watchable.
