"Comédie de l'innocence" (2000)

Tu n’est pas ma maman

Tonight is the 66^th birthday of Isabelle Huppert. She started her film career in 1971 and Isabelle Huppert still keeps us pleased with her successes. She played, among others, the roles of two condemned to death women, Marie Curie, Anna Bronte, Emma Bovary and so on and so on.

In 2015, Isabelle Huppert visited Moscow theatre and I was, primarily stunned, by her stage moves. She, wearing a rather high-heel shoes, floated like a butterfly. Among her many years, I would pay special attention to 2000. In 2000, Michael Haneke finished shooting «La Pianiste» (it was released the next year), «Merci Pour Le Chocolat» (I watch it every year on her birthday) and she acted in play «Medee».

The same year, Isabelle Huppert starred in «Comedie de l’innocence» made by Chilean filmmaker Raul Ruiz. This film was rather overlooked, but it doesn’t make it worse than her more known roles. That is why, on the birthday of Isabelle Huppert, it is more convenient to recall some of her lesser-known roles.

Once, King Solomon was visited by two women with argument about a toddler. After listening to the argument, Solomon ordered to cut the baby into two pieces and give the parts to arguing women. After hearing the cry of woman not kill the child and to give it to her rival, Solomon realized who was the real mother.

One rich and affluent French family have a rather good and steady life. Serge and Ariane are celebrating the 9^th birthday of their beloved son Camille. Everything goes as planned, until the evening, when Camille starts to call his mother by name and stating that he is really Paul, and they should urgently visit «the real mother». Ariane and Camille have reached the address and they encounter Isabella – a woman, who lost a son two years ago, - which happily embrace Paul-Camille and the boy calls her a real mother.

The strongest bond is a mother love. Mother loves her child unconditionally and would never abandon him or put him in harm’s way. The death of a child is one of the main human tragedies, which could completely destroy the woman’s life (at least, psychologically). The other tragedy – loss of a child or if a child rejects the mother.

The children are enjoying fantasies, including inventing new biographies and parents. Some of such fantasies are deliberate and aim to hurt the more (as in a case, when mom refuses to buy something). Usually such tantrums are short-lived, but what if child makes a claim about another mum and such claim is somehow verified?

The worst thing in such satiation is ambiguity. When child is physically sick, you know, most of the times, about proper drugs and how to nurse your child back to feet. In case of the «second mother», mum have the only course of action left – to mend fences with her rival in order not to lose a child, because such radical trial, as in parable about King Solomon, are abolished since the Middle Ages.

Every minute in such surrealistic situation is destroying Ariane’s psychic. Everything looks like as a rather bizarre nightmare, but Ariane cannot wake up and merely embrace Camille. The only option left for her is to dream about another Solomon, who would help to settle her dispute for good.

By using a rather simple means, the director was able to shoot a haunting story about a child loss. The worst is that such stories are quite real and the only hope that such Kafkaesque story would never happen to you or your close friends. Despite all of that, I would like to thank Isabelle Huppert for making this film «fly». I am impatiently waiting for release of «Greta» and again wish the happiest of birthdays to Isabelle Huppert!