La Veuve de Saint Pierre has a star studied cast with Juliette Binoche, and Daniel Auteuil and is directed by Patrice Leconte. It tells the story of a drunken sailor convicted of a senseless murder on the remote Cod islands of Saint Pierre. The murderer Ariel Neel Auguste is sentenced to death by the guillotine. However on the remote island there is no guillotine and no executioner, so his execution is delayed. The murderer attracts the sympathy of the beautiful Madama La (Juilliete Binoche). Madame La is the wife of the Captain of the island. She gives him sympathetic understanding and treatment borne of her idealistic belief that even the most evil can change.
(It is a little puzzling why Madama La becomes so attached to the murderer right from the start. ) Anyway her devoted husband played by Daniel Auteuil allows his wife full freedom to do whatever she wishes in regard to the prisoner. Over the course of time it appears Madama La’s faith is well rewarded. The prisoner becomes popular with the islanders, marries a woman and appears to be genuinely decent at heart. It is based on a true story, although one feels they have taken certain liberties. When presented with an opportunity to escape he refuses, not wishing to get his kind protectors in trouble.
However the mayor of the island is dismayed to see the law being flouted and wishes to uphold the execution. No one on the island wishes to be involved in the execution, so they have to get someone from outside who comes to do the dirty work. In the end you start sympathizing with the convicted murderer, it certainly makes a strong case against capital punishment and also illustrates the power of retribution.
The film is set in the remote French outpost, St Pierre. It is not exactly beautiful but the director Patrice Leconte manages to create a spirited piece about an unusual storyline. To some extent you might also feel the plot becomes a little one dimensional. However it doesn’t try to be something it isn’t, it doesn’t aim at greatness but is some thing a little different with a thought provoking storyline and is quite watchable.
Richard is an economics teacher in Oxford and is a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre. Richard updates a blog including reviews of DVDs. He enjoys writing biographies and film reviews for his site: http://www.biographyonline.net/
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