Late at night, 23-year-old student Jeanne stands outside clutching her suitcase, sobbing. At her wits’ end after a failed relationship, she is moving in with her dad. Only to discover that her father Gilles, a middle-aged philosophy lecturer, has a relationship with Ariane, one of his students, who is the same age as Jeanne. Suddenly Gilles has two youngsters around; he tries to be a father to one and a lover to the other.
This might sound like the makings of a romantic comedy, but French filmmaker Philippe Garrel takes things seriously. After Jealousy and In the Shadow of Women, the third in his trilogy of black-and-white films on the vagaries of love is Lover for a Day. Not only did Garrel mine his personal and professional life for the plot; his daughter Esther Garrel plays Jeanne and one of his theatre students has the role of Ariane.
Film details
Country of production
France
Year
2017
Festival edition
IFFR 2018
Length
76'
Medium/Format
DCP
Language
French
Premiere status
None
Director
Philippe Garrel
Producer
Saïd Ben Saïd
Screenplay
Philippe Garrel, Jean-Claude Carrière, Caroline Deruas, Arlette Langman
Cinematography
Renato Berta
Editing
François Gédigier
Sound design
François Musy
Principal cast
Éric Caravaca, Esther Garrel, Louise Chevillotte, Paul Toucang, Félix Kysyl