Diane Kurys' Oscar-nominated 1983 drama, an adaptation of her novel Coup de Foudre (At First Sight) with Olivier Cohen, begins with a marriage of convenience before pivoting to the story of a fortifying female friendship.
Entre Nous ("Between Us") opens in Occupied France in 1942. Helene, aka Lena (an excellent Isabelle Huppert), a Belgian Jew, will do anything to enjoy freedom again, and the day arrives when she meets Michel (Guy Marchand), a Foreign Legionnaire who offers to marry her since the Vichy internment camp allows married couples to go free. Afterward, to her disappointment, she learns he's Jewish, too, at a time when that made European life perilous. Nevertheless, they make their way on a treacherous journey over the Alps and beyond into Lyon where they rent a flat, raise two daughters, and build a life.
Once Kurys establishes the contours of Lena's world, she introduces Madeleine (Huppert's Going Places co-star Miou-Miou, also excellent) and her fiancé, Raymond (Robin Renucci), a fellow art student. Both are quite fond of their left-wing instructor, Carlier (Patrick Bachau), with whom Madeleine will reconnect after the war. When Raymond is killed during a partisan raid by fascist militia members, she is devastated, but when Kurys catches up with her in the 1950s, she has married Costa (Jean-Pierre Bacri) and had a son, putting her youthful dream to become a sculptor aside.
Lena, meanwhile, longs to open a dress shop, but the more she asserts her independence, the more controlling Michel becomes, while the comparatively easygoing Costa, an actor, can't hold down a job, making Madeleine the primary breadwinner. The young mothers meet at a school pageant—a pageant also factors into Kurys' 1977 Peppermint Soda—and sparks ignite. For both, marriage hasn't turned out as they hoped, and life improves when one has a fun-loving counterpart with whom to socialize and commiserate.
As the story unfurls, both marriages degrade as jealousy, infidelity, property destruction, and even a mental breakdown enter the picture, but the friendship between Lena and Madeleine, characters inspired by Kurys' mother and her best friend, survives every manner of upheaval.
Peppermint Soda, which drew from Kurys' relationship with her mother and sister comes to a similar conclusion as 13-year-old Eléonore's friendships provide solace when everyone around her criticizes all she does that isn't sufficiently childlike, even as she yearns for the freedom her sister enjoys to wear pantyhose, to date boys, and even to go camping unchaperoned.
Kurys followed with two other semi-autobiographical films, 1980's Cocktail Molotov and 2013's For a Woman. In addition to her insightful writing and deft direction, Entre Nous benefits from Philippe Rousselot's cinematography and Yves Simon's score. On ABC's At the Movies, Roger Ebert proclaimed it “amazingly perceptive” with Gene Siskel agreeing that it was “fabulous” and “really quite special.”
Entre Nous will prove especially eye-opening for anyone who knows Isabelle Huppert best for her more discomforting films, like The Piano Teacher or Elle—Lena proves she can operate on a smaller, down-to-earth scale, too.
What kind of film series would this narrative fit in?
Entre Nous would fit with a series of French-language films, particularly those of the 20th century. It would also fit with a series on the work of co-writer/director Diane Kurys and actress Isabelle Huppert (it's the only film they made together).
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Entre Nous would be suitable for French-language and drama collections in academic and public libraries.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Entre Nous would benefit library programming on French-language cinema, films about postwar France, the Jewish experience in WWII-era Europe, the work of Diane Kurys or Isabelle Huppert, international women directors, and female friendships.