Films about people making films are popular with directors - it's their world, after all. The setting for this story is effectively a film-set, based on the lead character's past life. It's an interesting concept, but it does drift into some introspective observation about the fantasy world that cinema creates, and the delusions that people play upon themselves. Daniel Auteuil and Fanny Ardant are good value, as always, and the actress who plays the role of the young Marianne gives a compelling performance. One minor irritation was that this was supposed to be a recreation of 1974, yet the music is more redolent of the 1960s.... I suppose the French have always been a little behind the times where pop music is concerned.
Review of La belle époque
