Violette 2013

     The setting of this film is 1942 in France during WWII and at a time when the black market was very active.  Violette Leduc met Maurice Sachs and they make their living by selling provisions they obtain outside of the law.  Violette spent three days in jail because of this work.  Maurice was the writer of Le Sabbat and he encouraged Violette to write.  He died in Germany during the war.  Because of her first novel L’Asphyxie (In the Prison of Her Skin of 1946), she met Simone de Beauvoir and she also encouraged Violette’s writing.  She wrote 11 other novels and 2 were published after her death at the age of 65 in 1972.  She had a very intense and focused relationship with Simone de Beauvoir.

     Writing for women was very restricted in France during the period of Violette's publications.  Simone encouraged her and fought for her novels to be published uncensored and despite controversy over content.  This is the second time I’ve seen this film but my first viewing was only of the first quarter of the film.  I thought it was difficult and convoluted plus paying attention to the subtitles was a lot of work.  This time I made it through the film and found it very interesting.  It does pick up in the next three quarters of the film.  Violette struggled with publishers, loneliness, unrequited love, money issues, charity, self-esteem and self-worth.  Devos and Kiberlain are excellent in their roles.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

139 min, Bio directed by Martin Provost with Emmanuelle Devos, Sandrine Kiberlain, Olivier Gourmet, Catherine Hiegel, Jacuqes Bonnaffe, Olivier Py.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 84% critic 68% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.2* with 25 reviews, The Guardian 4* out of 5*.