Of course it helps if you are French yourself or have 1) an interest in, 2) a knowledge of or 3) a passion for all things French but even without one, two or all three this is still a very fine film. As I write Michel Bouquet is three months shy of his eightieth birthday and despite being asked to portray a man walking in the shadow of death he turns in a remarkably robust performance, one, surely worthy of an award. Jalil Lespert doesn't have too much to do except pose awkward questions so tentatively that they are almost too easy to ignore and/or brush aside yet he manages somehow to bring some gravitas to the role. I am the least political animal you're ever likely to meet plus I am not French and have never lived in France but I have acquired over a time, mainly via my admiration for French films a perhaps necessarily limited knowledge of French history so that names like Petain, Leon Blum, etc are not as Greek to me as they may be to other non-French viewers. Having said that I think even the complete novice will find lots to admire in the quality of the acting all round especially that of the two principals. Not perhaps for everyone but if it IS for you then you came to the right place.
Review of The Last Mitterrand
