UN BEAU MATIN (ONE FINE MORNING)(France 2022) ***1/2

Directed by Mia Hansen-Love

Director Mia Hansen-Love (LE PERE DE MES ENFANTS) tackles once again her favourite genre of nuanced romantic relationships, this time between Sandra (Léa Seydoux) and best friend, but a married one, Clément (Melvil Poupaud), before they turn into best friends with benefits.  There are of course complications and baggage. Sandra works as a freelance translator, being an attentive single mother to her eight-year-old daughter (Camille Leban Martins), and caring for her father (Pascal Greggory), a retired philosophy professor slowly losing his sight, memory, and independence due to a neurodegenerative disorder.  It is her father that brings Sandra to tears so often.  Clement, however, is married with a son.  Director Hansen-Love is an expert in creating and developing emotional and realistic characters making UN BEAU MATIN immensely watchable and compelling.  The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and opens this week. A solid alternative for a Valentine’s Day Movie - French style.  The film won the Europa Cinemas Label (best European film in Directors’ Fortnight) at Cannes 2022