FILM: LÉA SEYDOUX GLOWS AMIDST THE GLOOM OF ONE FINE MORNING’S (UN BEAU MATIN) GROUNDED NARRATIVE

BY IRVIN RIVERA

Mia Hansen-Løve’s ONE FINE MORNING (Un Beau Matin) delicately takes you on the different pages of Sandra Kienzler’s life (played brilliantly by Léa Seydoux).

Watching it feels like being transported inside a book taken out of a shelf containing other ignored books- living the life of the heroine, feeling her pain, her joy, her frustrations, her sadness, her desires, and everything in between words, sentences, paragraphs and punctuations in the messy, complicated, unexpected, yet beautiful chapters of life.

This French film is very, very realistic that sometimes, when it borders on too much of the seemingly mundane things of life, it may feel like a cliché- but life is a cliché, isn’t it? Life itself is filled with clichés that transmutes itself into something interesting, oftentimes, surprising and beautiful, the moment you let it unfold. That’s like the vibe of the film as well.

Sincerity is the blood that gives this film so much life. The film is full with pages of poignant pictures of life scenarios that are universally relatable. For instance, the weight and responsibility of taking care of your family, catching feelings and falling in love with someone distant, dealing with constant heartbreaks while juggling with life, while keeping it all together is something that most people could understand.

Denis Lenoir’s cinematography and Mia Hansen-Løve’s direction approached these seemingly mundane but poignant life moments with utmost care. It draws you in as an audience and it works because it’s never imposing, it’s not trying too hard at all, and it seamlessly weaves the myriad of feelings, moments and stories together into a tender film about life.  

The collective sighs in the theatre punctuates the chapters of Léa Seydoux’s unparalleled performance. Every time she smiles, we smile. When she cries, we feel it. When she is in pain, we sympathize- and most probably draw from our personal experiences as well. It’s cathartic.