L'enfant rêvé

The child you dream of does not exist :these are the words of the woman from the adoption agency.

Noémie (Melanie Doutey )is infertile and decides to adopt a child ;but her husband François (Jali Jespert) reluctantly agrees, because he wants a child of his own ;when he meets Patricia (Louise Bourgoin),a married woman and a mother of two ,it's love at first sight.

The run-of-the -mill love triangle again? Pas du tout ! Because soon Patricia is pregnant by her lover : although François is elated (my own flash and blood) , the lovers are out on a limb:shall they divorce ?

This is good psychological drama , filmed on location in the grandiose landscapes of the Jura Mountains (the cinematography is splendid indeed) , well acted and off the beaten track . The social context , the sawmill François and his wife run, which runs into difficulties (although it's not mentioned in the film , importations of wood from North Europa cause problems )is carefully depicted and one feels husband's and wife's love for their work and for the raw material ,wood: François tells the woman from the adoption agency he would take his foster child to the forest and make him share his passion (but it does not convince the lady). And he will do it ,even though it will be short-lived.(an admirable scene)

Unfortunately , when you've got no child, you 're not "normal ": the quarrel during the grand-parents' golden wedding is revealing ,and François 's humiliation knows no bound .

Ellipsis is a common procedure in film narrative ,but here it's brilliantly used: ; after they've seen François rock the baby in his arms , there's no scene between the four protagonists of the affair ; Noémie ,the cheated wife ,waits to be home .

Recommended.