the light (2004) l'équipier (original title) region free dvd5 french bcbc

The Light (2004) "L'équipier" (original title)

Wounded in battle in the 1963 Algerian War, Antoine relocates to the petite Breton island of Ouessant to rebuild his life. Despite inexperience he wins a job at the local lighthouse, a romantically lonesome citadel in the wild seas...



The Light



Review by Margaret Pomeranz



It’s always interesting to see a film with insight into a world you’ve never visited.



THE LIGHT is a French film set on Ouessant, the western-most island off the coast of Brittany mainly in the early 1960’s.



A new arrival Antoine, (GREGORI DERANGERE), a crippled survivor of the war in Algeria, causes resentment right from the start when, because of his war service, he’s assigned to be part of the team manning the lighthouse off the coast of the island, cutting out a local man who expected to get the job.



His colleague is an initially resentful Yvon, (PHILIPPE TORRETON). But it’s Yvon’s wife Mabe, (SANDRINE BONNAIRE), who responds to the young newcomer who, in between shifts, gets a part-time job at the cannery where she works.



When a jealous local witnesses a moment between them the match is lit for a confrontation.



This is a polished melodrama from director, Philippe Lioret. It contains very solid performances from an impressive cast.



Sandrine Bonnaire is always mesmerising, she’s wonderful here. PHILIPPE TORRETON gives Yvon an endearing vulnerability and GREGORI DERANGERE is handsome and effective as Antoine.



But what makes the film fascinating is the work at the lighthouse. The dramatic way of arriving there, the actual igniting of the light, the position of the lighthouse as it’s lashed by storms from the Atlantic, it’s great stuff.

And the love story is poignant too.



It seems like an old-fashioned film in many ways, but old-fashioned in a good way.