Memories are wheels and files that take away the sharp edges from the good old days, straighten the odds that went awry, and give life to something we may never have experienced.
The film “Together Again” opens with Mathieu, played by Guillaume Canet, a famous film actor who, just before his much-anticipated theater debut, panics, abandons everything, and retreats to spend a week in the off-season at a luxury spa in a quiet, seaside town. The desolate, melancholy atmosphere of the spa reflects his own inner turmoil, creating a palpable sense of isolation that is both physical and emotional. Here, Mathieu seeks solace and perhaps some kind of confrontation with himself, away from the spotlight and pressures of his profession.
The presence of the well-known actor does not go unnoticed by the small local community and so soon, he will receive a message from his old lover Alice. So this self-imposed retreat takes a sudden turn when he meets Alice (Alba Rohrwacker), a woman with whom he had shared a passionate one-night stand sixteen years earlier. Alice’s presence stirs up old memories and unresolved feelings, rekindling a relationship they both thought was long forgotten. Their reunion is fraught with tension as the two characters wrestle with their personal history and the choices that led them to this moment. Mathieu’s vulnerability as an actor at a critical stage in his career, combined with Alice’s unexpected presence, sets the scene for a story that is as much about what is left unsaid as it is about what is said.
Less political and more human-centered, director Stéphane Brizet (“The Law of the Market,” “At War”) masterfully uses the seaside setting to highlight the moving themes of the film. The ocean, vast and unyielding, serves as a metaphor for the emotional currents between Mathieu and Alice. It reflects the tides of their past, pulling them back to a time of passionate uncertainty. The city itself, desolate and stripped of the vibrancy of its tourist season, becomes the perfect setting for the film’s exploration of emptiness and nostalgia. As they reconnect, the actor and Alice find themselves in a delicate dance between desire and restraint, caught between the allure of rekindling their romance and the fear of rekindling old wounds.
The emotional core of “Together Again” lies in its depiction of grief and the possibility of second chances.
Guillaume Canet’s portrayal of Simon is subtle, understated and well-sourced, capturing the weariness of a man who has lived through fame and failure, while Rohrwacker imbues Hélène with an air of mystery, understated charm and emotional depth. Their on-screen chemistry is intense and Brizet lets their interactions unfold at a naturalistic pace, giving us time to absorb the complexities of their relationship.
Ultimately, Together Again is a meditation on time, memory, and the inevitable weight of past choices. It’s a film that speaks to the universal experience of looking back on life’s pivotal moments and wondering what could have been, offering a poignant exploration of love, loss and the bittersweet nature of human connection.
Beautiful memories are always melancholy. You know they are fleeting, you want to keep them, you can’t let Nostalgia invade there either, so you enjoy the pleasure without the weariness of worry, without the tyranny of pain, without the bitterness of loss.
#Shores #Melancholy
