This is what the term “French film” conjures in popular usage -- talky, witty, sexy. Claude Sautet’s glancing May/December romance holds up well on second viewing, even without the delight of surprise, while Emmanuelle Beart and Michel Serrault are even more amazing in the title roles. She’s a young woman who knows her own mind -- competent, direct, and peremptory; he’s an old man -- judge turned businessman turned memoirist -- equally sure of himself, till the defenses of both break down. He bails her out of a financial and marital bind; she signs on as his amanuensis; and in the course of their long hours of working over his book, they form a cranky emotional bond. The film is both delicate and incisive, funny and heartbreaking. (1995, dvd, r.) *8*
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