Between Two Worlds

 

Between Two Worlds 2021

• Director: Emmanuel Carrér
• Based on the book by Florence Aubenas
• Cast: Juliette Binoche, Hélène Lambert, Didier Pupin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Juliette Binoche – many
• Why? Binoche. The subject
• Seen: 14 January 2024                      

        Marianne (Binoche) has left Paris and gone underground in Caen, working as a cleaner. She’s a writer gathering material for a book exposing the terrible conditions for cleaners and other low-paid workers. It’s not just the low wages, it’s the disrespect, the insecurity, the long hours early and late, the heavy work.

       She makes friends but it can never be real friendship. She can always go back to her comfortable Parisian life. They cannot. And what will happen when they find out? Because they will. They are desperate. She is not.

       Marianne means well but is it hollow benevolence? Will her book change anything or will the exploitation of the cleaners lead only to few tsk tsks from bourgeois readers, giving them a chance to pity the poor workers and feel good about themselves for being polite to them for a while but not doing a thing to change the oppressive exploitive system?

       Yet, books like these have brought about changes, some improvements. Maybe it’s a step towards real change?

       The film is good.

 4* of 5