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À nos amours

To Our Loves | Auf das, was wir lieben
Retrospective 2023
A nos amours, un film de Maurice Pialat. © 1983 Gaumont / France 3 Cinéma. Collection Gaumont.
Suzanne is 16 and she sleeps around. Luc, whom she loves, is the only man she doesn’t sleep with. Instead, she breaks up with him. Suzanne says the only time she is happy is when she is with a guy. Her behaviour leads to conflict with her parents, Polish immigrants. She first tangles with her father, to whom she confesses her sadness. After he leaves the family for another woman, Suzanne faces off against her mother and brother, who berate and beat her. To get away, the young woman goes to boarding school and marries young. But she doesn’t stay with her young husband … “You could be 15 again with me,” Luc pleads in a touching attempt to win back Suzanne’s affection. It is an apt commentary on her early loss of youth and empathy – “It’s as if my heart had run dry”. This character study of a young woman in a dysfunctional family who herself realises that she is emotionally impaired deconstructs the old myths of a “glorious youth”. The film was largely improvised and newcomer Sandrine Bonnaire won a César for her portrayal of a girl both radiant and perverse standing at the abyss of adolescence.
by Maurice Pialat
with Sandrine Bonnaire, Evelyne Ker, Dominique Besnehard, Maurice Pialat, Anne-Sophie Maille, Christophe Odent, Cyr Boitard, Maïté Maillé, Pierre-Loup Rajot, Cyril Collard France 1983 French 99’ Colour

For the 2023 Retrospective, internationally renowned directors, actors, and screenwriters were asked to select their personal coming-of-age favourites.
Alice Diop has chosen À nos amours.

With

  • Sandrine Bonnaire
  • Evelyne Ker
  • Dominique Besnehard
  • Maurice Pialat
  • Anne-Sophie Maille
  • Christophe Odent
  • Cyr Boitard
  • Maïté Maillé
  • Pierre-Loup Rajot
  • Cyril Collard

Crew

Director Maurice Pialat
Screenplay Arlette Langmann, Maurice Pialat based on “Les filles du faubourg” by Arlette Langmann
Cinematography Jacques Loiseleux
Editing Yann Dedet, Sophie Coussein, Valérie Condroyer
Music Henry Purcell
Vocals Klaus Nomi
Sound Jean Umansky
Art Directors Jean-Paul Camail, Arlette Langmann
Costumes Valérie Schlumberger, Martha de Villalonga
Producer Micheline Pialat
Associate Producer Emmanuel Schlumberger

Produced by

Les Films du Livradois

France 2 Cinéma

Additional information

DCP: Gaumont, Neuilly sur Seine