Coup de foudre
(a.k.a. "At First Sight," "Between Us" and "Entre nous")

France (1983): Drama

Diane Kurys's 1983 film is a heartfelt love story about two women in postwar Lyon, France. Lena and Madeleine (Miou-Miou and Isabelle Huppert) are two young women living with the results of the desperate choices they made in order to survive the war against Germany. In 1952, Lena has two girls with the man who rescued her from the Jewish encampment; an enlisted man whose surname was supposed to offer her peace and security. Madeleine's love was shot to death days after their wedding as German soldiers crossed the demarcation line and came into town to take Jewish citizens to the concentration camps. Ten years later, she is now married unhappily to Costa (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a rogue who is forever trying to get rich on whatever scam he can concoct. The two young women meet at their children's school recital and become friends as each attempts to find fulfillment. As their friendship grows, they dream of opening a boutique together until their marriages, and subsequent financial security, deteriorate and the only comfort they can find is in each other's arms. (US distributor: United Artists Classics, 1984) (Michele Goodson, Amazon.com)

 View a (poor quality) trailer for this film on YouTube.com.

1 nomination