A film that perfectly mirrors the inner turmoil of older female singledom, Let the Sunshine In shines bright in star-power. Not only does the whole storyline orbit around a radiant Juliette Binoche (The Wait, AF FFF2016; Polina, AF FFF2017) at her very best, but this is a women’s film behind the camera too. Iconoclast Claire Denis (Beau Travail, 1999; Trouble Every
Day, 2001; Friday Night, 2002) sits in the director’s chair, having penned the script with novelist-playwright Christine Angot, and ably assisted by her frequent cinematographer, Agnès Godard. Denis introduces us to Isabelle; a 'divorcée' with a child who is searching for love but finding only callous suitors whose actions lend her experiences an acid-laced comedic edge.
Fans of Denis will note that her hot-blooded sensuality and precision-point scrutiny of human nature take this film beyond regular rom-com territory into something far more prescient; reality without the pessimism.
Giants of the screen – including Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Gérard Depardieu – make colour cameo appearances throughout, but in the end, Let the Sunshine In is Juliette Binoche’s film, and one in which she is an absolute pleasure to behold.
Tuesday 27th February
94 min
MA15+
Film Festival