Quando o Amor Acaba

The core of the story is the relationship between Jean (J. Yanne) and Catherine (M. Jobert), which after six years of living together is slowly deteriorating. Nevertheless, this relationship is also enriched by Jean's relationship with his former (and formally never-ending) wife, Francoise (M. Méril). Initially seemingly insensitive, Jean - and I must commend Pialat's choice here, as J. Yanne played a butcher and a "beast" in Chabrol's film - gradually reveals himself as a balanced counterpart to the more devoted and fragile Catherine. Pialat managed to convince me of the reality of this fading love, but like in his other films, something is missing for me here. It might be that there is a certain distance from the story itself, something that would make this unique (and therefore non-transferable) love relationship less closed within its own cinematic microcosm (although this "closure" is captured very well by Pialat and could be a positive for someone else). As a result, the film would not partially resemble what we call "art for art's sake.” (01/04/2014)