Sophie is a philosophy professor who leaves behind her usual intellectual milieu for a romance with a construction worker.
A sensitive French melodrama from the Un Certain regard program at the Cannes Film Festival.
At first glance, everything in Sohpie’s (Magalie Lépine-Blondeau) life is great. She has a smart and attentive partner, fun friends who she can discuss ecology and humanism with over a glass of wine, and keen students at her lectures. Despite this, she is bored by her personal life, which seems to lack a spark. After buying a summer home, she meets Sylvain, who has been hired to renovate it. Sylvain doesn’t quote French poets and doesn’t even know the words to cult English songs, but with him Sophie feels alive and desired once more. Is this something she really needs? Can she escape her boring routine? Is internal liberation possible?
The Nature of Love is the third feature by French-Canadian actress Monia Chokri. Focusing on an examination of the subtle nature of love and the relationship between a man and a woman, this film neither moralizes nor preaches, which is perhaps the best thing about it. Chokri’s film offers a fresh look at the nature and shortcomings of monogamy, and the main female character’s thought process is brilliantly portrayed. She is able to say what she wants, stop in time, and, if necessary, leave stuff behind. Magalie Lépine-Blondeau as Sophie has subtle comic timing and the ability of transform into her character, who is very clear about the mistake she is about to make but goes ahead anyway.
The film will be shown in French with Russian subtitles.
The Nature of Love
Director Monia Chokri
France, Canada, 2023, 112 min. 18+