La Baule-les pins

Another autobiographical slice of life from Diane Kurys, a bitter-sweet recollection of summer at the seaside in 1958. Packed off with their nanny, Frédérique (13) and Sophie (6) are happy enough playing on the beach, but it's clear that all is not right between their parents. Léna (Baye) joins them only when summer is beginning to pall, and she is alone. For the most part, Kurys concentrates on the childish hi-jinks of the sisters and their cousins, but she subtly incorporates other perspectives too, exploring the ramifications of the parents' divorce through countless quietly affecting details. This is delightfully evocative film-making, bringing an unerringly authentic touch to the most intangible circumstances - childhood, memory, love gone sour - maintaining an even, unblinking vision that allows for a great deal of humour as well as heartache, and extracting performances from children and adults alike that ring absolutely true. A less heroic, harsher tale than the liberating Coup de foudre, but in many ways better judged.