I've Loved You So Long
| I've Loved You So Long | |
|---|---|
Film poster
|
|
| Directed by | Philippe Claudel |
| Produced by | Yves Marmion |
| Written by | Philippe Claudel |
| Starring |
Kristin Scott Thomas Elsa Zylberstein |
| Music by | Jean-Louis Aubert |
| Cinematography | Jérôme Alméras |
| Edited by | Virginie Bruant |
| Distributed by | UGC Distribution (France) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
115 minutes |
| Country | France Canada |
| Language | French |
| Box office | US$22.3 million |
I've Loved You So Long (French: Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) is a 2008 French-Canadian drama film written and directed by Philippe Claudel. It tells the story of a woman struggling to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
When Juliette Fontaine, formerly a doctor, is released from prison, her younger sister Léa invites her to stay with her family – including her husband, his mute father, and their two adopted Vietnamese daughters – in their home in the university town of Nancy in Lorraine. Why Juliette was in prison is revealed slowly throughout the film: first, that she was in prison for 15 years, then that her crime was murder, then that the victim was her 6-year-old son Pierre, and finally the reason why she killed him.
Léa, a college professor of literature, is considerably younger than Juliette. Because of the nature of Juliette's crime, their parents denied Juliette's existence and refused to allow Léa to visit her. In addition, Juliette had refused to speak throughout her trial. As a result, Léa knows nothing about the circumstances surrounding the crime and, when pressed for details, Juliette refuses to discuss what happened until the end of the film.
While struggling to find employment, Juliette enjoys platonic companionship with two men, a probation officer who understands how prison can damage the human spirit, and Michel, one of Léa's colleagues, who is sympathetic to her ordeal of having been imprisoned.
Gradually, Juliette begins to fit in with Léa and her family, makes friends, and finds a permanent job as a secretary at a hospital. She also develops a close relationship with her young nieces, much to the distress of their father, who is concerned about their safety while in their aunt's presence. Slowly, after seeing how she interacts with the family, he begins to accept her.
Juliette agrees to accompany Léa on a visit to their mother, who is confined to a nursing home with Alzheimer's disease. For a brief moment the woman recognizes and embraces her, remembering her as a little girl rather than the estranged daughter who murdered her grandson.
Léa accidentally discovers a clue to why Juliette killed Pierre. Juliette diagnosed her son as suffering from a fatal and painful disease. Léa confronts Juliette with what she learned, and Juliette explains that, when Pierre's condition progressed so that he could barely move, Juliette killed him with an injection, knowing that otherwise he would suffer unbearable pain. At the trial she spoke no word of defense or explanation, feeling that she deserved punishment for bringing her son into the world, condemned to die. After a cathartic, emotional scene between the two sisters, Léa looks at a window and comments on how beautiful the rain is. Juliette agrees, and the film ends with Juliette saying, "I am here."
...
Wikipedia