The Widow Couderc

Excellent yet reserved performances by famous actors, a simple yet multi-layered story about one (or two) women's misery that gets an unexpected boost in the shape of a visit from a man who behaves differently from all the redneck machos in the backwater of a village, make for a somber movie that is nevertheless full of life and hope. Whatever ends up happening to her. When a director has actors and a script like this, words are superfluous: in the clothes washing scene with the widow with the other villagers, Simone Signoret manages to celebrate her triumphant victory just by scrubbing a man's shirt. SUMMARY WITH SPOILER: Everything would have gone wrong anyhow, even if the gendarmes hadn't shown up. But those few moments of happiness were wonderful. (23.02.2023)