Suzanne

Thirty-four-year-old French director Katell Quillévéré (‘Love Like Poison’) had the idea for her second film ‘Suzanne’ after reading memoirs written by the partners of French criminals – women driven by love who abandon everything to stand by their men. We first meet Suzanne – named after the heroine of the Leonard Cohen song – at ten. Her mum is dead and she lives in smalltown France with her dad and sister – a fierce, loving little family. Time passes, we see snatches of years here and there. At 17, Suzanne (Sara Forestier) falls pregnant and keeps the baby, hauling him around noisy bars. Her sister is a bit wild, but there’s something almost suicidally reckless about Suzanne. She meets Julien (Paul Hamy), a man with a little-boy-lost face and a criminal record as long as your arm. But rather than follow Suzanne and Julien on the run, Quillévéré stays at home with her family. So in the end this isn’t a Bonnie-and-Clyde ballad, but a tender, sad and real love story about families. Every emotion is bang-on; every scene unfolds grippingly and naturally; and by the end, these characters feel like people you know.