FFF REVIEW: COURTED (L'HERMINE)




5/5

Michele Racine is a judge (the president of court as he likes calling himself) and he is both feared and respected. His personal life is in a disarray, with the divorce settlement approaching. As he is about to start a new case he has to live in a hotel and is fighting a terrible flu. But all is about to change, when one of his jurors turns out to be the woman he once loved.

COURTED is a slice of life drama, and when real life is being imitated there’s always a place for comedy. Focusing on Racine in and out of court, the movie covers three days, introducing the line of quirky characters and a few genuinely heartbreaking moments. Following the disturbing details of a murder case, the film’s tone is never grim, giving us a warm atmosphere, delivered by the people of the story, and an interesting romantic development between Michele Racine (Fabrice Luchini) and Vitte (Sidse Babett Knudsen), a beautiful doctor Racine is falling in love with.

COURTED is a small movie with smartly written, lifelike dialogue and the portraits of small people, who come up very interesting given a second look. Fabrice Luchini gives one of his best performances. He had mastered the character of an annoying but charming eccentric. In COURTED, however, he gives us a personage with inner strength and values we learn to respect over the course of the film. Although Racine is not very likable, Luchini with his performance has clearly shown what a beautiful and smart woman like Vitte can see in such a man.
This charming movie is about real people, real lives and a maybe a little about dreams, that are also a part of living. Not trying to reach for the stars, this film shines in its own way, and is as comforting as a cup of hot lemon tea on a grey winter day.

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