COMMENTS:

In UNE FEMME DOUCE, Dominique Sanda is, like most of Bresson's characters, trapped. She is the mismatched wife of a pawnbroker and, after various travails, she comes to breakfast in a silk kimono and announces to her husband that she will be "une femme fidèle." After several moments, we see her open the french doors to her balcony and there is a cut to a very tight close-up of Sanda's face, one of the very few in the entire film. Her face is luminous and incredibly beautiful; deeply melancholy yet imbued with a deeply felt peace. There is a cut to an exterior shot and on the soundtrack, the sound of car brakes squealing. Then there is a shot of the balcony: the rocking chair is in movement, a table totters, and a flower pot smashes on the floor. We see Sanda's white shawl floating in the air. What an incredible way to show a suicide.

[ By Carole Zucker • December 09, 2004 ]