I was going to see Patrice Lecomte’s film La veuve de Saint-Pierre, 2000, which I love as a director, and now the turn has come. I'm sitting there thinking because the film made a mixed impression. On the island of Saint-Pierre, two men in a state of strong alcoholic intoxication killed an innocent man, arguing about whether he should be called fat or fat. Having sobered up, they, of course, understood the savagery of their act, but, alas, the murdered can not be returned, they were put on trial, the murderer of Neil (Emir Kusturica) was sentenced to death, an accomplice to servitude. It so happened that on the way to the place of detention, the accomplice died in an accident, and Nila, the head of the garrison, Captain Jean (Daniel Autoy), took him to the place where he was supposed to wait for execution. The difficulty was that they had neither a guillotine nor an executioner on the island, all of which had to be discharged from somewhere, in this case, Martinique. But in those days, it took a lot of time. The captain lived in great love and harmony with his wife Pauline (Juliet Binoche), both of them for that time (mid-19th century) people were already more advanced, Pauline believed that a person can repent and atone for his guilt, and she took Neil under his care, the husband did not mind, the man began to change before his eyes, began to do good deeds, he was given the opportunity because he was not kept under lock and key. Unfortunately, they were powerless, unable to defeat the system, the end was tragic. What I didn’t like about this film was that Pauline, having been carried away with saving Neal, essentially had a negative impact on the fate of her husband, at some point she was ready to simply sacrifice him, and it is also possible that his action was caused by a great love for his wife, not only by his own convictions, although they too. A widow at that time was called not only a widowed woman, but also a guillotine. In general, the film is good, although a bit ambiguous. The question is, how far can mercy extend?
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