Rebecca Zlotowski’s sweet, sad film is a drama of grownup sadnesses, lost chances and last chances; a little lenient and soft-focus, maybe, although I loved the bittersweet closing-credits shot of its star Virginie Efira breezing through the streets of Paris in a spirit of philosophical acceptance to the chanson Les Eaux de Mars on the soundtrack.
Efira plays Rachel, a single woman in her late 30s who is a teacher, a demanding, rewarding job that she loves; she is thoroughly committed to her students and is at present trying to find a work-experience placement for a troubled kid that she believes in. Rachel is Jewish, and regularly attends a Paris synagogue with her sister and widower father – a synagogue protected by an armed soldier against antisemitic attacks. Rachel has had a chequered dating history; she is worried about her ticking biological clock and receives warnings from her elderly gynaecologist, a very funny and surreal acting cameo from the legendary documentary film-maker Frederick Wiseman.
