THE LAST MITTERRAND (France / 2005)

The Last Mitterrand (Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars) is a beautifully realized and deeply affectionate portrait of the late French socialist president, Franois Mitterrand. Mitterrand, a political giant in his heydays, came into power in 1981 and held the position until 1995, becoming the longest-serving French president. But director Robert Gudiguian hasnt concocted a biography; instead, he has chosen to portray his subject's final few months based on Georges-Marc Benamous book, "Le Dernier Mitterrand." Benamou, who worked with the statesman while he battled prostate cancer near the end, is one of the characters, though named Antoine Moreau for the film. A young, left-wing journalist whos going through a tumultuous phase in his personal life, Moreau (Jalil Lespert) is assigned the task to write the presidents autobiography. He finds the leader (played by Michel Bouquet) as a physically frail, yet intellectually headstrong human being who prefers not to disambiguate certain episodes of his personal and political life. (Mitterrand was allegedly a high-ranking official in the fascist Vichy government, responsible for sending French Jews to concentration camps.) However, Gudiguian isnt interested in a cross-examination; he wants to explore how the politics ultimately shaped the man. And that concept is also applied to Moreau, albeit in a much more leisurely manner. The Last Mitterrand is arguably the most ambitious film so far from the Marseille-born filmmaker, known for small, socially relevant dramas like Marius and Jeannette (1997) and The Town is Quiet (2000). Its also his most technically accomplished work. But the depth it eventually achieves is largely due to the intelligent, lived-in performance of Mr. Bouquet, who rightfully won the 2005 Csar (French "Academy Award") for Best Actor.

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*THE LAST MITTERRAND premiered at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival (in-competition). It is now available on DVD in the U.K. No U.S. distributor at this point.