Programme Notes

Monday 26th July 7.30pm

Two of Us (Deux) (12A) + short film Wings

A nuanced but delicate love story set in small town France, Two of Us follows two older women, Nina and Madeleine, who to the outside world appear to simply be neighbours on the same floor of their apartment building, but have secretly been in a relationship for decades. When alone, the two come and go between their apartments across the shared landing, but when Madeleine falls ill, their easy intimacy is compromised - with family members and carers suddenly busying the space - and their plans to move to Rome are threatened. Madeleine has never come out to her adult children - not out of fear of homophobic reactions, but because she knows the revelation would shatter their false perception of her marriage to their father. And so the secret threatens to spill, as her daughter, Anne, starts to wonder why the friendly neighbour from next door is so concerned with her mother’s welfare. Whatever it takes, Nina refuses to sit idly by and give up on her love. This is a remarkable feature debut, telling the kind of deceptively complex love story that is all too rarely seen for female characters in their 70s. Writer/director Filippo Meneghetti is not afraid to weave an element of suspense through the narrative, but there’s humour too, and his two excellent leads present a rich acting showcase that is a delight to watch. WINGS In the Blitz during the Second World War, families and friends try to survive the nightly bombing raids. They live and work and fall in love. 60 years on, what has become of them? This short film by Jamie Weston features national treasure Miriam Margolyes and was the winner of the WOFFF20 Audience Choice award, as well as the Iris Prize Youth Jury Award. (2020 UK / USA 18 mins)

REVIEWS A romance this convincingly lived-in is rare indeed … Meneghetti knows precisely what to do with the camera, favouring tight close-ups to give us the full benefit of the central pair’s comfortable joy in each other’s gaze and complicity in something wonderful. They know how lucky they are to have found each other. Something as basic as the way their feet occupy space as they dance together speaks volumes. Bad or awkward news is conveyed with sly visual mastery that cancels the need for dialogue … Beautifully crafted and perfectly cast, the film touches on everything from keeping up appearances and family dynamics between parents and adult children to a critique of retirement homes that over-medicate residents. Lisa Nesselson, Screen International

The tale of two older women whose decades-long secret relationship is threatened after tragedy strikes covers emotional and thematic ground that transcends the sexual preferences of the two main characters. This often-moving film … is an affirmation of our universal desire for emotional intimacy and how the right connection can overcome all social and physical limitations. Mark Keizer, Variety Aside from the harrowing suspense, what sets director and co-writer Filippo Meneghetti’s film apart is the passion and tempestuousness of Madeleine and Nina’s interactions. The visual and narrative tension, of course, ramps up the eroticism, but so does Madeleine and Nina’s actual relationship, which hasn’t aged in that calm, quiet, mature way we usually think of lesbian grandmas. Nina, especially, has been simmering with rage her entire life … [and] Nina and Mado fight and frolic like teenagers; something we hardly ever see with later-in-life women on-screen, and especially not with lesbians. Heather Hogan, Autostraddle

Cast Crew Barbara Sukowa Nina Dorn Director Filippo Meneghetti Martine Chevallier Madeleine Girard Writers Malysone Bovorasmy, Filippo Meneghetti Léa Drucker Anne Producers Laurent Baujard, Pierre- Jérôme Varanfrain Frédéric Emmanuel Fleurantin

Muriel Bénazéraf Muriel Cinematography Aurélien Marra Augustin Reynes Théo Editing Ronan Tronchot, Julia Hervé Sogne Monsieur Brémond Maby Music Michele Menini

Film Facts

Although it did not ultimately get a nomination, the film was France’s official submission to the Oscars this year. While German actress Barbara Sukowa is a legend of independent cinema, having worked with directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, David Cronenberg, Sebastián Lelio and Agnieszka Holland, Martine Chevallier is better known as a famous theatre actress with the Comédie-Française in her native France. Director Filippo Meneghetti decided to cast Martine Chevallier as Madeleine because so much of her role was when the character was unable to speak. Theatre acting involves projecting emotion to a more distant audience. Of her choice to work with a first-time feature director, Barbara Sukowa says: “What intrigued me about Two of Us was that it was a story I’d not seen on film — a love story, and also an erotic love story between two older women. I have seen love stories about younger women, but not about passion, oppression, secrecy, and all these illicit things in love stories with older women. Another thing that fascinated me was the story was written by younger people and a young man directed it. I thought that would be a very interesting skew on the story. He’s a first-time director, which is always a risk because he could be a good writer and a bad director, you don’t know. I met him, and I found him to be very passionate about the project. He could have likely financed it much earlier if he had chosen younger women because it would have been a safer choice for a producer, but he insisted on doing it with older women. I thought that was very courageous. I had the feeling he had a vision. That’s why I did this.”

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