The Widow of St. Pierre

An emotionally engaging, tragic 19th century drama set on a French-Canadian island, The Widow of St. Pierre is inspired by the factual account of a commandant's fervent, impulsive young wife who befriends a death row prisoner in her husband's charge, eventually arguing for his life to be spared as his execution is put on hold, while waiting for a guillotine to arrive from France. Juliette Binoche gives a poignant, potent performance in the lead, gradually swaying her husband and the entire civilian population of the island to her point of view. As you might guess from the title, however, there are tragic results, and the realization that the eventual outcome could have been avoided makes the movie a little frustrating. Still, director Patrice Leconte (Girl on the Bridge, Ridicule) makes the picture a beautiful, engrossing work nonetheless, with nice turns from co-stars Daniel Auteuil as Binoche's noble, chivalrous, passionate husband, and Emir Kusturica as the openhearted, ingenuous prisoner. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)