In
the great tradition of Jacques Demy’s films like “Les
Parapluies de Cherbourg,” comes this French musical for the
1990’s. Jeanne is a young woman working as a receptionist for
a travel agent. Happily dividing her time between two men in her office,
the handsome conceited executive and the sexy delivery boy, Jeanne
resists her older married sister’s suggestion that she settle
down. She also does not fully understand the sobering message that
comes from her friend François, who had recently lost his lover
to AIDS. One day in the metro she meets Olivier, the perfect guy,
and they fall in love immediately. Just as their relationship begins
to progress from the excitement of a new passion to something more
serious, Olivier reveals to Jeanne that he is a former drug-user and
HIV positive. Jeanne, stunned, refuses to accept that this will change
their relationship, and tells him she will always stand by him. As
Jeanne celebrates her birthday with her family, Olivier confides in
François, that he is afraid of dying and abandoning his new
girlfriend. Even when he is hospitalized, Jeanne believes that Olivier
will recover and that their perfect love will conquer all. Overcome
with emotion, Olivier hides from her the fact that he is going home
to his parents to die. When Jeanne returns the next day he has disapeared.
She searches for him everywhere but eventually accepts the fact that
he is gone. Autumn arrives and Jeanne still hasn’t heard from
Olivier. She has started a new romance but continues to think only
of him. One day she runs into one of his friends and learns that Olivier
has died.
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| PHOTO Courtesy
of Strand Releasing |
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