Madame de Sévigné is one of the most renowned figures in French literary history. And when I say “literary,” this should be taken in the literal sense only. She didn’t write any literary work; she is famous solely for the extraordinary letters she wrote to her daughter.

I was very curious to see how a film script could be crafted based on those letters, and what I saw yesterday at the neighborhood cinema (Méliès, an art and experimental theater) left me with an especially good impression.

Madame de Sévigné, a 2024 production with a screenplay by Isabelle Brocard and Yves Thomas and directed by Isabelle Brocard, managed to elevate and truthfully portray the relationship between these two women, mother and daughter, with everything that such a relationship entails: endless love, quarrels, distances, affectionate reunions, swift bursts of anger, anxieties, misunderstandings, a profound spiritual bond, suffering for each other’s troubles, small resentments, differing visions, disagreements over life issues, and soul-deep tremors for each other...

It gave me the sense that nothing changes over time or space in such a deep and unique mother-daughter relationship, to the point where you feel as if they are people from your social circle, if not from your own family.

The lead roles were played by Karine Viard and Ana Girardot.

K. Viard is a well-known actress, but I had the impression she only knew how to play roles with lots of "hahaha and heehee," with her teeth always on display, as the wise Albanian saying goes. But she performed this role with the exact nobility of a true marquise. A. Girardot, meanwhile, was an absolute marvel!