The Woman From Nowhere

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Nick M An enervated woman wanders like a ghost toward a former home, now inhabited by a family with a young child. The family takes pity on her and graciously allows the woman to stay the night so she may enjoy her memories. Shortly after her arrival the husband goes away on a brief business trip, while the wife secretly plans to steal away with her lover, running toward passion and adventure and leaving behind the shackles of domesticity. Discovering this rouses the older woman out of her nearly catatonic stupor, as it mirrors the episode in her own life when she left this house behind. She vacillates between counseling the young mother to go or stay, recognizing the tragedy of her own situation but remembering the unparalleled bliss of her own love affair all those years ago. As she wanders the property and gets swept up in her memories she ultimately decides that, had she to do it over again, she would still choose to run away with the young man who eventually abandoned her, for despite her years of unmitigated loneliness she would not trade her memories for anything. As her lover waits for her, the young mother runs toward the gates of her property, but seeing this her child calls out to her and follows. She is prepared to ignore its cries until the child trips and falls to the ground. Her instincts stop her in her tracks, and she turns, drawn to her helpless baby. The father comes home, and we watch as the mother chooses to accept security and responsibility over an exciting but uncertain future. The woman thanks the family for their hospitality, and we watch as her reminiscences fade into regret for all she might have had if she had chosen differently. La femme is considered to be part of the French impressionist movement in cinema. It wears the mantle lightly, mostly only while helping us experience the memories of the woman from nowhere as she recalls her happiest moments. Ève Francis plays her tragic character well; the more time she spends on the grounds of her former home the more she comes alive, reliving all of the pain and pleasure, briefly appearing young again before age and familiar sorrow settle inevitably back into her gait and shoulders. It's beautiful to see a woman beyond her years as an ingenue exploring her sexuality on the silent screen, though of course it was only allowed in an atmosphere of gloom. Even more awful is the fact that the actress playing this woman who believes her life to be over and done with was only 36 at the time the film was released! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/25 Full Review Read all reviews

The Woman From Nowhere

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