Picture of the film CHRONIQUE D'UNE LIAISON PASSAGÈRE (DIARY OF A FLEETING AFFAIR) by Emmanuel MOURET © Pascal Chantier
Chronique d’une liaison passagère (Diary of a Fleeting Affair): when a picture’s worth a thousand words
Two years after the critically acclaimed Les choses qu’on dit, les choses qu’on fait (Love Affair(s)), Emmanuel Mouret has returned to the Official Selection, this time at Cannes Premiere. For his eleventh feature film, the French director, faithful to his focus on love, tells the story, in an elliptical style, of the affair of two adults, between a romance and dramatic comedy.
Charlotte (Sandrine Kiberlain), a single mother of three children, has as her lover Simon (Vincent Macaigne), a married man. While they agree that their relationship should remain strictly physical, they become increasingly surprised by their bond…
A concern for detail
The most interesting part of the film lies in the attention given to the movement, reactions and words of the two lovers, who, despite having decided not to fall in love, have increasing difficulty hiding their growing feelings. The idea to focus only on their dates, and to only hint at their everyday lives between these rendezvous, invites the audience to pay careful attention to detail. The movements of the camera and the placement of the actors, always in motion, keep us suspended in the present moment, like these two individuals who prefer to not think of tomorrow.
Sensual without showing too much, romantic without falling into clichés, Emmanuel Mouret's new film, intimist and with experienced actors, offers beautiful moments of cinema, with delicate visuals and a light soundtrack. A love story that dare not speak its name, with Serge Gainsbourg's Javanaise accompanying the film throughout.
