The Light (2004) User Reviews

A great film about Life and Love.

[andrew_s_clark · 8/10 · 16 September 2004]

A terrific film set in 1960's Brittany, France. Philippe Lioret has done an amazing job of capturing the lives of the Bretons and their reluctance to accept outsiders into their proud history.

An interesting piece of information is that the film was shot entirely on location and no models where used for any of the lighthouse scenes. This knowledge enhances the dramatic visuals as it is unbelievable that they were there filming in some of the situations shown.

Grégori Derangère (Antoine) does a stellar performance of the outsider and his struggle to find himself and acceptance, ultimately challenging the friendship of the one who has.

I thoroughly recommend it and truly hope that more people will see it even though it is not an English film.

To The Lighthouse ...

[writers_reign · 8/10 · 26 December 2004]

... but that, I'm afraid, is as close as we get to Virginia Woolf in this story of closed communities and acceptance of outsiders. Gregori Derangere, so good in Bon Voyage, is rewarded with another central role as the etranger who comes to the rugged, inhospitable (in more ways than one) Brittany community to work in the local lighthouse. Set in the sixties the story is told in flashback hung on the peg of a daughter who has returned to her roots to sell the house she lived in as a child and remembers the stranger/catalyst and the conflicts he triggered. Sandrine Bonnaire is on hand as the married woman destined to strike sparks off and with Derangere and it's refreshing that when they do, inevitably, get it on they do so out of doors in daylight - against a wall in fact - whilst the Bastille Day celebrations go on around them. Given that Bonnaire is married to Derangere's colleague, Phillippe Torreton it does tend to put the master bedroom out of bounds and the scene - the one and only time they have sex - reveals no tenderness or finer feelings, merely lust that nevertheless produced the girl through whose memories the story is filtered. Not perhaps to everyone's taste it is, nevertheless, a fine effort, made entirely on location and none the worse for it.

Shipwrecked

[bob998 · 7/10 · 26 November 2007]

This is the second time Sandrine Bonnaire has made a film in the rocky, ocean-lashed confines of Brittany--the first one being Voleur de vie, which I found better, truer to life. The story of a forbidden love that leads to pregnancy has been done so many times and Lioret is not the great director who can make it all fresh.

Grégori Dérangère is like a big friendly dog in this picture, not showing much emotion: we're supposed to admire his endurance and honesty but it all grew tiresome for me. Bonnaire shows how tough a Breton woman has to be amid the crashing waves and male stupidity, but her mind often seems elsewhere. Only Phillippe Torreton as the hapless Yvon shows any great commitment to the project. Once more he reminds me why he's one of my favorite actors.

The picture, the story, the intensity of feelings ; perfect combination

[helenemichelcardin · 12 November 2011]

About the injured hand change in the middle of the film : it was filmed with the good one but the director decided afterward, for aesthetic reasons, to flip the image in the computer so the characters and everything else in that scene appear as though it was filmed conversely. He said it in an interview.

The dramatic tension builds up with the emotions of each character. We feel exactly as they feel. The rejection of the stranger by many of them is especially strong, and their angriness towards him all collapse magnificently when he reveals, in a Coup-De-theater scene near the end, why precisely he lost the use of his hand. Another fascinating psychological evolution : the complete rejection of him by his lighthouse partner that slowly but surely becomes esteem and friendship.

A story that looks typical at the start but that nevertheless brings an extraordinary personal view of people, not to mention the sea views that are just breathtaking.

Casting a Light on Love

[krocheav · 7/10 · 13 June 2013]

I've only just discovered this French film. A friend loaned me an imported DVD copy and even though it suffered some surface damage (making it awkward to scan several small sections) I enjoyed most of this very interesting story.

While I felt some of the situations between principal characters may not have been developed as fully as necessary (having several writers never helps) I still found myself being drawn into their briefly intertwining lives. Having engaged in a brief stint of seasonal work in my own youth, I certainly can vouch for the animosity dealt out to 'strangers' who come to find work in small close knit communities. The film shines in capturing the arrogance of locals preserving their own 'limited home culture'

The performances are uniformly good, but the special effects are the stars. Wonderful Cinematography puts you in the action and captures the specialized, now lost, art of Lighthouse keeping. This is possibly the best glimpse into the lives of keepers of the flame since great French Director of Photography; Henri Decae, shot Kirk Douglases interesting (but sadly overindulged) problematic production "The Light at the Edge of the World" back in '71 (if you can find the better 'Short Version' of the Douglas film you may find it exiting) To "L'equipier's' advantage is the remarkable on-location filming (reffered to in the film as the end of the world) both during turbulent storms at sea, and within the souls of its characters. Film Sound man turned Director Philippe Lioret certainly works hard with this material, and his capable cast ~ Of particular note is Philippe Torreton as head Lightkeeper.

We only get glimpses into why the gentle Gregori Derangere character seems to be continually running away from his past IE: a scene where he sits reflectively in an empty Church...until his disclosure towards the end. The adulterous sexual encounter with his workmate's wife (up against a wall during a festival) seems a little out of pace with the rest of the film, as if it was deliberately set up to gain an 'A' Certificate. Some of the more violent encounters with townsfolk looked a little this way also, but the majority of 'modern' viewers won't be bothered by any of these activities. Overall, the poignant love story should engage a large cross section of viewers. The film also has a fine, unobtrusive music score that helps to knit scenes together nicely. Apart from one or two situations being over exaggerated "The Light" is compelling, and strikingly good looking Cinema. Ken Roche.

A Very Good Man Filled with Love and Punctured by Xenophobia

[film_ophile · 10/10 · 9 July 2006]

I have just seen this today at the French Film Festival at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. What a very very romantic story; akin to The Widow of St.Pierre for me.I sighed such a big sigh when it was over. More than many films I have seen recently, I did NOT want it to end.It took me in and wrapped me up as only a truly wonderful film can do.Maybe I'm impartial. I know that Gregori Derangere has caused me to fall completely in love with a film character for the first time in SO many years. He is just so GOOD, so filled with love for everyone around him, and so quiet and handsome. As the French might say, Un Hero Veritable. And the xenophobia of these island Bretons is just SO oppressive and so insidious.For most of them, getting rid of the handsome newcomer is what preoccupies them for the length of the film. The cinematography ,framing, pace, mood- all excellent. Hats off to the director and screenwriter who understand that the most convincing, tantalizing and mesmerizing way to present sexual charisma and chemistry- is not through bare flesh but through glances and brief silent encounters. I know-I'm partial. Nevertheless,I am STILL sighing.

Not welcome !

[dbdumonteil · 8/10 · 19 June 2011]

Since the release of "l'EQUIPIER" ,Lioret has become one of the most promising directors in France with two important works " Je Vais Bien Ne T'En Fais Pas " and " welcome";quite rightly so.

"L' Equipier" displays originality,sensitiveness and (yes!) humor (Je Préfère les PHARES,says the new kid in village ,En Mangeant son FAR =i like lighthouses best,says the hero,while eating his far;in French "Phare " (lighthouse) and Far (a famous Breton pastry)are homonyms).

The rapport the grumpy Torreton and the all smile Dérangère have between them is extraordinary ;this kind of rapport was already present in "Tombés Du Ciel" and would make the marvelous "welcome" even more worthwhile.

Lioret takes advantage of the splendid Breton landscapes and of his lighthouse in the storm ("lighthouses in the sea are hell" says the seasoned keeper) The action takes place in 1963 thus one year after the Evian agreement ;the newcomer was a paratrooper whose left hand was injured (we"ll understand why at the end of the story,and it is all the more disturbing since we find him nice and gentle).Brittany ,probably for historic reasons,did not seem to like aliens at the time ;it's also probable some of their sons were killed in that dirty war and his coming reminds them of what they lost.

"l'Equipier" IS one of those rare recent movies which has got something of the old cinema,particularly that of Jean Grémillon.

Sandrine Bonnaire is somewhat eclipsed by the two male principals but she brings the melodrama touch,the icing on the cake.

During the ball,the music seems more Irish than Breton:variations on "star of the county down" and " the water is wide".

Well done movie with a flawed message

[svenloveshelga · 5/10 · 14 August 2016]

Sorry to rain on the parade of glowing reviews for this well done movie, but what is it with some stories twisting the true nature of adultery into something beautiful and respectable? Please don't lecture me about the reality of the world and how this must be portrayed in our fictional stories. I'm not supporting the notion that there shouldn't be stories with adultery in them, but even Mario Puzo's excellent novel and co-written screenplays (The Godfather series) portray the Corleone family as a bunch of flawed, but GOOD guys, however in the end, we see the destruction, heartache, and misery their lifestyle leaves behind. Not so in this French film (which isn't nearly as sinister as The Godfather, I know). I'm not going to be a sheep and follow along with most of the other reviewers and opine about how lovely it is for such a wonderful and kind man to put his powerful male seed into the barren, childless wife of his lighthouse co-worker (really boss, here). Oh, how everyone's heart swooned with sympathy and compassion for a most attractive married woman (trapped into a seemingly passionless marriage with such an uptight husband) who "fell in love" with this handsome (albeit mysteriously injured) former soldier who bleeds gentleness out of his constantly smiling, peaceful soul, and who is well versed in music and literature and seemingly everything else, and who is kind to animals (and of course the kitty just loves him, because the kitty can sense this man's pure and loving soul). He even surprises our emotionally rich and stoic heroine by playing her sentimental musical instrument (immediately building romance in her wanting heart) and even repairs it after he accidentally breaks it. Oh, the emotion and maturity when she leaves the repaired, sentimental instrument for him as a loving gift of her affection. There are many great things about this movie, like the beautiful and picturesque landscape/backdrop with its attention to an older, almost artisan style of lighthouse management. The glass of the lighthouse is so beautiful and mesmerizing as its light filled glow turns round and round, almost with sensual sensitivity illuminating the "love" that this beautiful married woman and her husband's trainee at the lighthouse have for each other with its rising tender and noted heart-pricked romantic tension of the most sincere and passionate kind. The acting is top notch (the actor who plays the husband is a freaking fantastic actor, by the way) and the film includes poignant historical, social, and cultural elements into the plot. It even includes the support for the concept of forgiveness and the ability of people to change and improve (specifically the husband of the adulteress who grows to respect our hero even though he banged his wife, but puts all that behind him). We even learn at the end of the movie that the husband lovingly raised as his own the daughter which was the result of this "affair". A truly good man. I liked that bit, but don't think it's worth the adultery as the ends do not justify the means. By the way, I am all in favor of forgiveness and improvement, as we all need it and should practice it. This film is rich with just about everything, except the backbone to criticize adultery for what it truly is in the most naked sense of its character. This is achingly made apparent when our adulterous heroine (played by a brilliant actress) rides her bike up on the hill in the distance and emotionally waves (seemingly to her husband) and her adulterous "lover". We see the husband wave back to her, only to realize that lover boy is also waving, but more emotionally, and with the husband's realization that she's achingly waiving what seemingly is a tearful good bye to his trainee, the subject of his wife's betrayal. Oh how the tears flow for such a "beautiful" gesture of true, passionate and achingly sad LOVE! Please get me a tissue. The only person in the film who has a problem with the adultery is characterized as an unrighteously judgmental bastard who tries to harm the fragile marriage of the lighthouse mentor and his adulterous wife. Watching this film made me feel like I was reading a much better version (in the literary sense) of that horrible novel by Robert James Waller (The Bridges of Madison County). Somebody get me a barf bag. To you ladies who loved this film or Waller's lame excuse of a novel, would you be so sympathetic if the roles were reversed and it was the husband who had had an "affair" that is depicted as justifiable? Huh? I've just seen a very scripted, well done, and loosely interpreted version of that crappy novel in this French film. Husbands who betray their wives are bad, but wives who betray their husbands have an excuse, right? Five out of ten because it's a very well done movie with a sickly wrong message. Peace.