MovieChat Forums > L'affaire Farewell (2009) Discussion > The Book of Poems

The Book of Poems

posted 14 years ago by Eumenides_0
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The book of poems Pierre offers Sergei is shown just a couple of times in the movie, but ironically it's quite important. It reveals a sort of distance between Pierre and Jessica, that Sergei could learn her favorite poem just from reading it. Funny, isn't? It was lying in the house, unread for ages, and if only Pierre had read it he would have discovered something new and intimate about his wife.

Also, Jessica has tendency of readers to write home addresses on books, which is how the KGB discover their apartment. Funny how people leave so much of themselves in the objects they own, and also how such a harmless thing can be turned against an innocent person in a dictatorship. It shows the fragility of life so well.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

[–] oneseat 14 years ago

Well put, Eumenides. I was surprised how important and affecting the family drama parts of this film were. I was expecting a political thriller/espionage puzzler, but was pleased to get complicated and interesting personal relationships, including the volatile but ultimately deeply affectionate relationship between Pierre and Sergei.

[–] boileau 12 years ago

May be.
But "Lagarde et Michard" is not "a book of poems", it is an anthology of French literature we use at the "lycée". I am not able to tell where mine is. As a French (pardon me) I was surprised that she took that book with her when moving to Moscow, Typically a book you would leave at your parent's home during the time you are abroad. The "walkman", the cassettes and vynils of Léo Ferré have much more value.