| Dora
van der Groen, Ann Petersen , Rosemarie Bergmans, Idwig Stephane,
Julienne De Bruyn.
An elderly woman who can't take care
of herself becomes the center of a family squabble in this moving
drama from France. Pauline (Dora van der Groen) is a severely retarded
woman who, at the age of 66, cannot read, speak in complete sentences,
or even tie her own shoes. Despite her handicap, Pauline is happy,
and can run simple errands; she lives with her older sister Martha
(Julienne De Bruyn), but Pauline has always been especially fond
of one of her other siblings, Paulette (Ann Petersen), and Pauline
would gladly spend the day puttering around Paulette's sewing supplies
store if Martha didn't stop her. When Martha dies, Paulette and
another sibling, Cecile (Rosemarie Bergmans), discover Martha's
will stipulates that if one of the surviving sisters will take in
Pauline and care for her, her money will be evenly divided three
ways between Pauline, Paulette, and Cecile -- but if she's given
to others or placed in a home, the entire inheritance will go to
Pauline. Paulette reluctantly agrees to take in her sister, but
her compassion soon proves to be in short supply as she begins hatching
a plan to close down her shop and move away, leaving Pauline behind.
Pauline et Paulette was the first feature film from director Lieven
Debrauwer. |