La belle saison finds a French Spanish lecturer, Carole (de France), drawn to the hypnotically energetic Delphine (Izïa Higelin), a young farmer from the north of France, after she's drawn into the Paris activist circle. Even though Carole is all partnered up, she eventually succumbs and elects to leave behind the city life to take up with Delphine on the family farm.
Things get a little testy in the rural backwater, for both Delphine, who's struggling to control the farm after her father's stroke at the same time as warding off a local suitor, and for Carole, who is having to combat city first slicker stereotypes then lesbian predator stereotypes that waft passive-agressively from Delphine's mother (played by an extraordinary Noémie Lvovsky).
Though it is slightly over-long, Catherine Corsini's film is doused in summer and never fails to captivate. The performances are flawless in their power to evoke an endless progression of thrills: passionate love, freewheeling rebellion, love making au naturel or just cutting loose on a pebbled dancefloor in front of a French farmhouse. The weightier moments feels a little rushed in comparison, even somewhat tacked on when all is said and done.
But, thinking back, even now, La belle saison won't live on in the memory because of what was lost. It will be remembered because it burned so furiously bright during the good times.
Better memories to hold.
★★★☆
Trailer:
La Belle Saison screened as part of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2016.
You can check out other films from the festival here.
You can check out other films from the festival here.
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