21/41
Explores the life of Simone Veil—the iconic French Holocaust survivor who went on to become a leading politician, human rights activist, and feminist—through a series of non-chronological flashbacks. Making the actors look like the people they play involved certain sacrifices: actress Elsa Zylberstein gained 18 pounds for the role and spent weeks trying to imitate Simone Veil’s speech; actress Rebecca Marder listened to Veil speak for two hours a day for five to six months and watched a lot of archival footage, and had to put on a lot of makeup and prosthetics on her nose, cheeks, and eyebrows; actor Olivier Gourmet endured five hours of makeup every morning before shooting. Les Roses BlanchesMusic by Léon RaiterLyrics by Charles L. Pothier. It’s always difficult to make a film about someone who has done so much for humanity in every way; fitting it into 2:20 is a real challenge. The movie is not perfect, there are many things that could have been better, but it is still worth watching. There are some really beautiful parts in it. It is a rollercoaster of emotions and stories. Knowing Veil’s story, which is an endless inspiration, this movie showed some very beautiful and special moments of her life. It was a mix of hope and melancholy, but at times a bit too exaggerated and staged. The movie showed someone so strong and intellectual in his most vulnerable moments. The camera was also very intense at times, and the focus on lighting wasn’t too bad either.