ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

DO ALL GREAT leaders worry about how posterity will judge them? Is reputation all that remains once power has faded? Those are the kind of questions at the heart of ‘The Last Mitterand’, a wintry, thought-provoking French drama that provides a worthy alternative to the more frivolous blockbuster fare of Summer.

Based on a book that sent shock waves through the French establishment, ‘The Last Mitterand’ is set during the final months of Francois Mitterand’s fourteen year Presidency. He is gravely ill and fighting the prostate cancer that will take his life.

He is still willing to indulge all the questions of young journalist Antoine Moreau (Jalil Lespert), who intends to write a book based on their conversations. Moreau becomes obsessed about reaching an understanding of Mitterand’s actions during the Second World War, the extent of his support for the Vichy government, and the point at which he pledged himself to the resistance.

Mitterand refuses to clarify what really happened in 1942 and is more concerned with the bigger picture and the future of France. A history lesson that sheds light on contemporary France, ‘The Last Mitterand’ is built around a superb performance from Michel Bouquet.

He offers a striking physical impersonation of the President but also captures his intellectual superiority, lofty manner and wry humour. He really does convince you that when Mitterand died it was the end of an era and the beginning of an age of uncertainty from which France has yet to emerge.

General release, selected cinemas
Director: Robert Guediguian
Stars: Michel Bouquet, Jalil Lespert, Philippe Fretun, Anne Cantineau
Screenwriter: Gilles Taurand, Georges-Marc Benamou based on the book Le
Dernier Mitterand
Certificate: PG
Running time: 116 mins
Country: France
Year: 2004

© Allan Hunter, 2005