SIFF: The Scent of Mandarin

Description

A classical and sumptuous love story of two broken souls, a widowed home-care nurse and a wounded cavalry officer, who begin a passionate affair in final days of the Great War.

It is the summer of 1918 and the Great War has been raging for nearly four grueling years. For Charles (Olivier Gourmet), the guns are silent, but his personal battles continue. As a French cavalry officer he was wounded and lost his leg, forcing him to give up his passion for horsemanship. As he convalesces at his family estate, Charles hires Angèle (Georgia Scalliet), as his home-care nurse. She too is a victim of the war, losing her husband at the front and raising her young daughter on her own. At first the relationship is cordial and businesslike, but soon Charles develops romantic feelings for his nurse and eventually proposes marriage. Although initially hesitant and still tormented by a broken heart, Angèle eventually accepts the proposal after extensive wooing by Charles. Gradually, however, she begins to recognize how she and Charles need each other to recover from their devastating war wounds–both physical and psychic. An emotional bond begins to form and grows into carnal passion as the couple tries to create happiness despite their combined sorrow. Scalliet dazzles in her big-screen debut, portraying Angèle as an intelligent, independent proto-feminist. Nominated for two 2016 César Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, The Scent of Mandarin is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, an unconventional love story, and a wrenching depiction of the deep scars left behind by war.

Director Biography: Born in Paris, screenwriter, producer, and director Gilles Legrand has many production credits to his name, including co-producing the 1996 BAFTA Award-winning film Ridicule, directed by Rémi Waterhouse, and the SIFF 2014 Films4Families Youth Jury Award-winning film Belle & Sebastian. The Scent of Mandarin is his fifth film.