Une Semaine de Vacances

Twelve years on from 1968, and the children of Marx and Coca-Cola are hitting their first mid-life crises' - in this case forcing a Lyonnaise teacher (Baye) to take une semaine de vacances and reassess her life. Tavernier avoids the reactionary ploys of 'unmarried women' stories, and his combination of solidly-crafted European finesse and fluid transatlantic shooting style effectively staves off intimations of the film's middlebrow nature. At the same time, the tentative celebrations of life's minor felicities - food, friendship, a community of good, nameless people - provide genuine warmth, and the final mood of cautious optimism is justified surprisingly well. CPea.