Author/director Diane Kurys created this important little film in 2013 and it has not had the exposure it deserves. It is a contemporary story that reflects n World War II, the Holocaust, marital infidelity, and the strength of sustaining love struggling against the vagaries of time, memory, and courage of surviving the atrocities of war.Very simply, FOR A WOMAN (Pour une femme) is the story of the marriage between Michel (Benoît Magimel) and Lena (Mélanie Thierry) as told by their daughter Anne (Sylvie Testud) with reflections on the mystery of abiding love. Michel and Lena escaped a Nazi death camp under the guise of being engaged. They married, had children, separated, and died. The time frame is between 1947, shortly into the marriage, and the 1980s, when the mother has died and the father is ill. Anne, the younger of the couple's two daughters, is a filmmaker going through her mother's mementos and reconstructing the events of the early marriage. During the period in 1947, the husband's brother Jean (Nicolas Duvauchelle) reappears. Thought to have been killed in the war, his reappearance creates many questions and triggers stresses in the marriage - among which is Jean's alliance with an anti-Nazi group (with Sacha - Clément Sibony) and the effects that has on his relationship with Lena.The acting is outstanding; the messages about the Jewish/Nazi conflict, and the ability of love to survive almost every obstacle are important and well portrayed. Recommended. In French with English subtitles.

Moments into this I realized it was a "continuation" or Another View of the engrossing and amazing 1983 film Entre Nous, starring Miou-Miou and Isabelle Huppert. That film focuses on the relationship between Lena (the director's mother) and Madeleine. This film focuses on director Kurys' parents, Lena and Michele, and their rocky marriage. Madeleine appears, but is essentially a satellite. The scenes between the two lack the incredible spark and frisson of the earlier film. Clearly Kurys is fascinated by her parents dramatic meeting and how their relationship reflects their times. To truly appreciate these revelations, it's essential to see the classier earlier film.

We got to see this interesting French film as part of this year's Jewish Film Festival in San Jose, CA. The story's about a couple who escaped a Nazi death camp partly because of the subterfuge of being engaged. They married, had kids, separated, and died. The movie jumps between 1947, shortly into the marriage, and the decade of the 1980s, when the mother has died and the father is ill. The younger of the couple's two daughters is a filmmaker going through her mother's mementos and reconstructing the events of the early marriage. During the period in 1947, the husband's brother reappears. He was thought to have been killed in the war and his reappearance creates many questions and triggers stresses in the marriage.All of this occurs at a pace that seems like a French film, which is what it is. The movie takes plenty of time to unwind the story and it's a complex story. Things are not what they seem, people change. In the end, most things are resolved.I really like this film as a way of tapping into a very personal French perspective on World War II, Nazis, and the Holocaust. It's a rich story, well told.

This film is semi-autobiographical, based on the director's family of which we are reminded during the closing credits when pictures of the cast are replaced by black and white photographs that I assume to be the director's parents and close family.This is a handsome period piece set mostly in the 1940's though it features some scenes in the late 80's and 1990 that coincide with the deaths of the parents. The film concerns French resident Jewish survivors of WW2 and concentration camps. We learn that Michel and Lena meet at such a camp; he was interred as both an enemy soldier and a Jew, she because she was Jewish. He saves her from certain death and as a consequence of this she agrees to marry him. In 1945 they have their first of two daughters, Tania, and Michel settles into life as a tailor in Lyons pioneering different cuts, styles and fabrics for men's suits. Michel has been helped into business by fellow Communist, Maurice, and the pair become friends as do their wives with Michel devoting his spare time to the Communist cause. Into this idyll arrives Michel's brother, Jean, who was assumed to have perished fighting in WW2. His arrival heralds discoveries such as what became of their parents, Michel's troubled relationship with his father, the political activity of French and European Jews post-war hunting Nazis who are fleeing capture and trial and, most importantly, Lena's restlessness in her marriage to Michel.Michel loves Lena with a devotion that he retains until death. Lena married Michel from gratitude and never quite feels the same passion although they enjoy a loving marriage. Lena and Jean are attracted to one another immediately and this attraction signifies the beginning of the end of her marriage to Michel although it will be a few more years before she leaves him.The film is told from the perspective of Anne, the younger daughter, who we see at the start reminiscing and writing about her parents' story. The story is romantic and bittersweet and set as it is post-war amongst Jewish survivors, it has a certain epic quality, as though it stands for the truth of those times. Above all the film is very respectful and the closing lines capture the tone of the film well; these are them in English translation:"We're given a family to begin with and create our own story where there's room or where there's light. We grow up as best we can between unspoken words, unanswered questions. And then one day we look at our parents as a man and as a woman we might have met and simply loved for what they were." As a paean to parents the film works very well. Parents are likened to the perfume of the title 'pour une femme'; their scent lingers though their essence, when gone, remain ineffable. The perfume Michel buys Lena, a bottle of which is found by the sisters after his death, issues some of its fragrance though it is decades old, as was Michel and Lena's marriage.Although it falls into sentimentality sometimes the film balances well the mixed feelings of the people and the times. I have reached an age where the loss of my second parent seems imminent and the film's tone and paean resonated deeply with me. The soundtrack is lovely and the ending song exquisite. Diana Kurys has produced a gentle, splendid film. Unfortunately its gentleness might lead it to be overlooked and/or undervalued.