A touch of tenderness
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A touch of tenderness |
| Original title | Si c'était à refaire |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Claude Lelouch |
| script | Claude Lelouch |
| production | Claude Lelouch |
| music | Francis Lai |
| camera | Jacques Lefrançois |
| cut | Georges Klotz |
| occupation | |
| |
A touch of tenderness (original title: Si c'était à refaire) is a French drama directed by Claude Lelouch from 1976 with Catherine Deneuve and Anouk Aimée in the leading roles.
action
After 16 years in prison for an accessory to murder, 35-year-old Catherine Berger is allowed to leave prison. She takes a taxi to the Lyon train station , from where she takes the train back to her homeland in Aix-en-Provence . On the way, a man tries to flirt with her. But all she can think about is finally seeing her son again, whom she once gave birth to in prison and who then grew up in an orphanage. Catherine is reluctant to think back to the events that have cost her so many years together with Simon.
She once worked as a secretary in a bank. One day the bank manager offered her a glass of drugged champagne in order to subsequently rape her. As a result, Catherine and her then-fiancé Henri initiated an act of revenge that accidentally led to the director's death and eventually put them both in prison. When Henri hanged herself in his cell, Catherine saw the only chance to survive the years of imprisonment in having a child of her own who could give her the strength she needed. She asked her lawyer to have a child with her, but he refused. After a supposed suicide attempt, Catherine ended up in the prison hospital, where a nurse finally granted her wish to have a child.
First, however, Catherine meets with Henri's mother Lucienne. This helps her to find a job in a lamp shop and to gradually reintegrate into society, which has since changed significantly, especially with regard to the role of women. Finally, during the summer vacation, Catherine invites her son over. Together they travel to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme , where they take a boat trip, spend time on the beach and go dancing. However, Simon does not know that the attractive Catherine is his mother. He falls in love with her and becomes jealous as soon as a man advances Catherine.
When he finally learns the truth, the sensitive teenager is drawn to Catherine's former cellmate Sarah Gordon, who is also Catherine's closest confidante. Meanwhile, Sarah's 18-year-old daughter is engaged to a far older man. Catherine is horrified to find out that her son is having an affair with Sarah. Nevertheless, she is determined to make up for the lost time with him and to build a close mother-son relationship. Her efforts pay off in the end and she finds her ideal life partner in Simon's unconventional history teacher Patrick.
background
The shooting took place on location in Aix-en-Provence and Saint-Valery-sur-Somme as well as on Mont Blanc , which served as the setting for the last scene. A Touch of Tenderness was first shown in French cinemas on October 1, 1976. The film was released in Germany on January 13, 1977.
Reviews
“A captivatingly photographed film story, which behind the seductive surface appears hollow and mendacious,” judged the lexicon of international films . According to Cinema , there is “only a touch of action”, but the film is “masterfully staged”. In summary, it is about "[p] romantly occupied [n] emotional kitsch".
Awards
At the César Awards in 1977 , Charles Denner was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. However, he had to admit defeat to Claude Brasseur , who won the award for An Elephant Is Wrong .
German version
The German dubbed version was created for the first German release in the cinema.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Catherine Berger | Catherine Deneuve | Helga Trümper |
| Sarah Gordon | Anouk Aimée | Marion Degler |
| Lawyer | Charles Denner | Harry Wüstenhagen |
| Patrick | Francis Huster | Wolfgang Draeger |
Web links
- A touch of tenderness in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Synopsis and review on frenchfilmguide.com
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ A touch of tenderness. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ A touch of tenderness. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .