Post-WWII France. A disgraced Madeleine, publicly shunned for falling pregnant with a Nazi soldier’s child, moves to the seaside to escape her shame. There she meets a sophisticated, wealthy PhD student François and, after a whirlwind romance, they marry. While it’s clear what skeletons Madeleine is hiding in her closet, the ones François is concealing come out later in their marriage.
The Garden Cinema View:
Set against the backdrop of postwar conservatism, Along Came Love is an ambitious period melodrama that explores the messy realities of love and human connection. Director Katell Quillévéré, who also wrote the screenplay, crafts a thoughtful examination of the shame and secrets we hide from each other and that have the potential to fracture relationships.
The film occasionally struggles with its duel-narratives: a son's ignorance of his true parentage (his biological father being a Wehrmacht soldier) and his stepfather's suppressed homosexuality. Nevertheless, this is a well-acted (strong performances by Anaïs Demoustier and Vincent Lacoste) and well-directed film that results in highly believable and well developed relationships that seduce us and sweep us into their dilemmas.
