Product Details

• Actors: Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Emir Kusturica, Michel Duchaussoy, Philippe Magnan
• Directors: Patrice Leconte
• Writers: Patrice Leconte, Claude Faraldo
• Producers: Daniel Louis, Denise Robert, Frédéric Brillion, Gilles Legrand
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Vidmark / Trimark
• VHS Release Date: September 18, 2001
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005NGDV
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,234 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

In the French colony of Saint-Pierre (an island near Newfoundland) during the middle of the nineteenth century, a captain of the guard (Daniel Auteuil) and his high-minded wife (Juliette Binoche) adopt as their protégé a man who has committed a meaningless murder (Emir Kusturica). The murderer is a sweetheart-a gentle and educable fellow. As the community awaits the arrival of a guillotine and an executioner, the captain and his wife refuse to bow to the logic of capital punishment or to administrative bloody-mindedness. For all its stern moral conviction, Patrice Leconte's film manages to duck the only question worth asking: would a less sympathetic murderer be worth saving from the blade? In French. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

130 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tragic, multilayered, and sweepingly romantic., May 4, 2001

By 

Miles D. Moore (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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"The Widow of Saint-Pierre" is one of those brooding, romantic costume dramas that only the French seem to do well these days. Far from being escapist fare, it is a dark, often profound meditation on the human condition and the vagaries of the human heart. In 1849, on the remote French island of Saint-Pierre off the coast of Newfoundland, an illiterate fisherman commits a drunken, senseless murder and is sentenced to the guillotine. But since the island has no guillotine, the governor must send for one--a process that will take years. Meanwhile, the fisherman is imprisoned in the island fortress; the wife of the garrison commander takes pity on the condemned man, and sets out to rehabilitate him, with the help (at first reluctant, later wholehearted) of her loving husband. Soon the captain and his wife are defying the governor in their attempts to help the condemned man--with tragic consequences. "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" works on several levels: as a romantic drama; as a denunciation of capital punishment and the cruelty of confusing the letter of the law with justice; and as a brilliant delineation of the nature of love, courage and self-sacrifice. Eduardo Serra's photography of the wintry landscape of Saint-Pierre (actually Nova Scotia) is marvelous, and the acting deserves the highest praise. By now, of course, everyone knows how exquisite Juliette Binoche is, and she is as good as ever here. But the thespian honors in this movie go to Daniel Auteuil, an actor of masterful subtlety and power, who makes Gerard Depardieu look like a double order of "jambon a' l'os."

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect love makes perfection in all., February 18, 2005

By 

Marty Valencia (Surprise, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Widow of Saint-Pierre (DVD)

I find it odd that when reviewing the reviews of this film that people seem to either give it perfect or abysmal scores. The dichotomy of opinion is probably a direct result of the skill and immense power of Leconte's images, (especially those that his chosen actress affords us).

Leconte is a master and quite possibly the greatest living auteur currently making films. His movies often contain a refreshing difficulty that gives one hope that images still mean something, that film is still worthy of being explicated, that someone still cares enough to think that much without being overly clever such as the Coens and Anderson. I shouldn't say still. I should say is and will be, as Leconte is on a different level than any who has ever worked including Kieslowski (the master of images). I enjoy how Leconte has said that although it was his second period piece he approached the film as if that had nothing to do with it, learning from "Ridicule". I should point that out I have no problem with "Ridicule" and the fact that it is a period piece has a great deal to do with the presentation, but I can see what he meant. Like I said, I enjoy the statement, but I should also point out I'm a jerk.

Binoche and Auteuil are two of my favorite actors and this film shows them at their virtuosic best. They deliver amazing performances of a truly passionate couple who both hold unconditional love for the other which in itself contains ultimate trust of decision and character. Possibly more Auteuil's for Binoche's but the sympathy generated by his character fuels her as an equally sharing partner, making any difference negligible. There is a third character, Neel, but he is there only to accentuate the relationship between the other two.

The movie, quite simply is about unconditional love and what it means to love unconditionally. There is a subplot of equal merits (mainly concerning Neel) about the belief in redemption, and what it truly means to believe in redemption. In short it is about the consequences of action through belief, more so out of the love for another than those of moral ground or stance. Some people are not willing to accept the belief that actions can or should occur solely out of sympathy for another. Some people will never allow themselves to love unconditionally. Some people will not understand or even like this film.

Binoche deserves a prize that doesn't yet exist for her most exquisite performance. Leconte deserves recognition for what he has done and what he has given us with this film, certainly one of the best I have ever seen.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Widow In Black, August 19, 2005

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Widow of Saint-Pierre (DVD)

Juliette Binoche is an amazing actress. Since her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "The English Patient" in 1996 and her nomination for "Chocolat," she's an actress whose films I seek. "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" has a bit of irony to the title. The opening frames show Binoche in black staring out of a window. We then move into the flashback in which most of the film moves forward. We learn that the "widow" is the guillotine that must be shipped by boat from France before the big execution can take place. We see director Emir Kusturica in an acting role as the very large prisoner Neel whose rehabilitation Binoche's Madame La seeks. We keep wondering if the black dress is saved for the prisoner. Daniel Autereil who won a Cesar (French Oscar) for his work with director Patrice Leconte for "Ridicule" in 1996 plays the lovestruck Captain who is in charge of the execution. Spurred on by his wild and unconditional love for his wife, he thwarts the town's sentence of death at every turn, refusing to allow his soldiers to help haul the widow ship to shore. In the moment of ultimate irony, Neel volunteers to help bring the widow to shore, which is sure to result in his own execution. The bloody resolution and the final shots of Binoche in black bring the story to its somber conclusion. Patrice Leconte has a great reserve, shooting this excellent screenplay in period costume and letting the depth of his cast work its magic. This is an incredibly tragic romance, one that works exquisitely. Enjoy!