Francisco Villarroel
@venezuelanlaw
Review of the film "Two autumns in Paris" by Eurasia Film Festival. This is a love story of two people from Latin America, which takes place in Paris. This film has a simple storyline, but contains many meanings: love, politics, future, past, feeling, duty, homeland. The film takes place in two-time planes at once: in our days and in the '80s. These days, Antonio Rodriguez is coming to Paris for a conference about human rights in Latin America. On the way to the conference, he remembers a love story with a young girl from Paraguay, Maria Teresa. Antonio m, a native of Venezuela, lived in Paris and studied law. At the University, he met Maria Teresa and from the first days of acquaintance, a love passion broke out between them. They began to live together. Antonio came from a well-to-do family and he was indifferent to politics. Maria Teresa, while living in Paraguay, participated with her lover in student protests and went through prison and torture. She managed to escape to Paris, and her boyfriend is presumed dead. The main content of the film is the love story of Antonio and Maria Teresa. Also, with a few flashbacks, we learn about the revolutionary past of a girl. Despite emigration, Maria Teresa continues to keep in touch with her compatriots living in France. Over time, she manages to change Antonio's attitude to politics, and he also becomes a participant in the protests at the Embassy of Paraguay. In 1989, the dictator Alfredo Stroessner was deposed. And this fact has changed the fate of Antonio and Maria Teresa. Maria Teresa is a strong woman ready to fight for the freedom of her homeland. At the same time, she remains a woman and she craves love. Paradoxically, Maria Theresa combines boldness and audacity with fragility, tenderness, and femininity. It's necessary to say some words about the peculiar work of the camera. Each scene is shot with a minimum number of glues. This way creates the presence effect. We have the opportunity to observe the scene as if we were present next to the characters. A lot of shots were taken with a moving camera so that the viewer's involvement in the scene was as deep as possible. It also creates a sense of reality if we're watching real life through a documentary camera. The film has wonderful music that creates an atmosphere of melancholic sadness. We should also say a special thanks to the director for the lack of postcard views of Paris. The autumn mood is transmitted through the dreary loneliness of Antonio, who tries in vain to find his beloved girl. The film "Two autumns in Paris" leaves a heavy aftertaste. This is not just a sad love story. This is a politics intertwined with personal life, and the question: "what would I do in such a situation?" We empathize with both characters: Maria Teresa and Antonio. This is the case when, due to the vicissitudes of fate, good people lose each other, but do not stop to love.
