Film
La Belle Epoque (15)
Dir. Nicolas Bedos, France, 2019, 115 mins, subtitled. Cast. Daniel Auteuil, Fanny Ardant, Guillaume Canet. Main language: French.
What if you had the chance to re-enact any period? Would you travel to Marie Antoinette’s court or William Shakespeare’s Globe? For Victor, given the choice by an immersive re-enactment company, he wants to go back to the night in 1974 when he met his wife. Fleeing from current drama, he has the chance to trip the light nostalgic, even if the artifice is paper-thin. Director Nicolas Bedos wrings a great deal of humour and pathos from keeping the fantasy alive, with prompts whispered in the actors’ ears and the antics of philandering behind-the-scenes director Antoine a witty counterpoint to the tender recreation. Sweet yet honest about the nature of memory and nostalgia, La Belle Époque will take you back to the good old days.
What if you had the chance to re-enact any period? Would you travel to Marie Antoinette’s court or William Shakespeare’s Globe? For Victor, given the choice by an immersive re-enactment company, he wants to go back to the night in 1974 when he met his wife. Fleeing from current drama, he has the chance to trip the light nostalgic, even if the artifice is paper-thin. Director Nicolas Bedos wrings a great deal of humour and pathos from keeping the fantasy alive, with prompts whispered in the actors’ ears and the antics of philandering behind-the-scenes director Antoine a witty counterpoint to the tender recreation. Sweet yet honest about the nature of memory and nostalgia, La Belle Époque will take you back to the good old days.