One Fine Morning (Un beau matin) stars Léa Seydoux in a gentle and sweet character study. This French film was written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve. The work I’ve seen from this director in the past was introspective and seemingly uneventful. This is similar. It’s a personality study that moves through a few months in the life of Sandra (Léa Seydoux).
In One Fine Morning (Un beau matin), Sandra is a single mother to Linn (Camille Leban Martins). She works as a translator. Her father (Pascal Greggory) is blind and showing signs of dementia. She helps care for him.
Sandra is a busy woman. She’s happy and kind in spite of her stresses and responsibilities. During the weeks of her life we witness, there are some big changes. One is her whole family gathering together to move her dad into a care facility and empty out his apartment.
The other big change is a love affair. She runs into Clément (Melvil Poupaud), an old friend. He is married and has a son about the same age as Linn. They start an affair.
The majority of the film is watching Sandra as she deals with her father’s needs amid all her family and how she handles being in love with a married man.
I thought Léa Seydoux was absolutely lovely in this. Her character was kind-hearted, cheerful, happy, and patient. She was admirable in many ways.
For a French film, the sex was surprisingly modest. The love Sandra showered on her child, her family and her lover was the heart of the film. It was a quiet and heartfelt story. There were a few scenes that opened up to show Paris, but most of the story took place on narrow streets and in crowded apartments.
The film is streaming on Prime Video.