Name: La chaise vide
Genre: Drama
Released: 1975-01-29
Duration: 1 h 35 min
Rating: 5.6
Cast: Martine Chevallier, Cyril Stockman, Daniel Quenaud

Pierre Jallaud's works deal with the underprivileged people , the disabled children ("une infinie tendresse" and the unwed moms (this movie) ;this is not rebellious cinema , it's just a look at misfortunes ,without taking sides.

"la chaise vide" : the title "the empty chair" tells it all : this is the place of the father , a photographer who disappeared in Angola ,who left a woman waiting , still waiting , who thinks he might be back some day.

All that concerns the mother/son relationship is excellent, a depiction of all the work a mom left alone has to do to raise her endearing little boy ;always humming a tune without words ,when she cooks or cleans after her work and her daily subway ; the stories she tells him are smartly introduced ,and some sunshine breaks through in this small sad flat. No dramatization , no pathos, no melodrama , humdrum ,routine life , a slow-moving film which may off-putting to some;hence it commercial failure.

The heroine has a small circle of friends and she falls for a musician (played by Maxime Le Forestier , a pop singer and the only known name in the cast) , but his post-May 68 looks seems terribly dated today .

And her job remains vague ;she does not seem to work that much ,and what can we say of the father? He's not a working class hero but a photographer who travels around the world,not exactly an underdog . He did not know his lover was pregnant ,but when he left for the broader horizons of Africa , he left her in her seedy apartment all the same !

My feelings are mixed.

French-language cinema, whether in France, Québec, or other Francophone regions, explores cultural identity, social change, and the tension between the individual and society. French cinema is not only celebrated for its intellectual experimentation and auteur traditions, but also its success in mainstream comedy, romance, and commercial entertainment. In Québec, films often focus on questions of language, belonging, and community within a distinct cultural landscape.

Jean-Pierre Léaud in The 400 Blows (1959)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF)

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La chaise vide

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