This time IMDB led me astray because the description of the film by the French filmmaker of Polish origin Rebecca Zlotowski states that it is a comedy-romance-drama. It turned out that the film premiered in the competition program of the festival in Venice has little to do with comedy, but “Les enfants des autres” or “Other People’s Children” is more of a psychological drama with elements of romance. Belgian actress Virginie Efira is back in fine form as the 40-year-old teacher Rachel, a woman who seems fulfilled and happy despite being solo.
But that will soon change, because at a guitar class she will meet Ali (Rochdy Zem), a year older, divorced father of a five-year-old girl. And they will quickly enter into a passionate relationship, and Rachel will very quickly connect with little Leila. However, the time spent in the company of Ali’s daughter, who will soon get under her skin, seems to remind her of the fact that her biological clock is running faster and faster and that she has less and less time to become a mother herself. Although she may not have thought about it before, when she was alone, Rachel will start to face the fact that this is what she wants, especially after her younger sister becomes pregnant, but the question is whether Ali has the same plans.
And she recorded Zlotowski’s subtle, finely thought-out and realistic drama that avoids falling into sentimentality and pathos. Rachel is not some desperate person who at any cost wants to take advantage of the short window left by her biological clock, but she takes a realistic look at her situation. Although she has decided to invest everything in order for her relationship to succeed, she realizes that Ali will never come first, no matter how hard she tries, and she is faced with reality as it is. “Other People’s Children” was one of those typical small, delicate, intimate, touching French films that qualitatively portray real life situations, which, along with a clever script, stand out with the great performance of the main actress, who has clearly been in great shape in recent years.