Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

kitten_kong ** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ** I've had a problem with films in recent years, regarding graphic scenes. I'll admit I've never been a fan of graphic violence, and my tolerance for it can run hot and cold depending on other factors: what's going on in my own life at the moment, whether the violence is cartoony and so outrageous it can be laughable (e.g., some Tarentino), how much justification is involved, and so on. I'm not overly squeamish, but my level of tolerance is inconsistent. As a result, I've put a lot of recent films on my back burner of "I'll get around to those someday" – high caliber, perfectly fine, intelligent films that just happen to contain some scenes that I don't wish to put in my head at this particular juncture.However, the one thing I always have trouble with is even the suggestion of cruelty or violence toward innocents, such as animals or children. I rented "Une hirondelle a fait le printemps" knowing very little about it, and unaware of the animal slaughter scenes it contains. I watched it all the way through, and I think it's a fine film in many ways – brilliant performances, gorgeous scenery, a rather silly but dismissible symbolism involving a hang glider, and best of all, that which European filmmakers do so well: a subtle, well-paced drama about everyday life and the human condition. When the film was over, I struggled with trying to reconcile my conflicting feelings, loving much of the film but detesting the scene with the pig, in particular. I did a little research and learned that the director, Christian Carion, is from a rural background, and that the scene was to be shot once, quickly, and that he would use whatever footage he got, regardless of Ms. Seigner's reaction. I don't believe Carion intended to be gratuitous in his choice to shoot this scene. I think he understands farm life for what it is, and certainly what he showed us is far more humane than the horrific practice of factory farming so prevalent in the United States. Also, there was a purpose to the scene, unlike the scene in "Patton" where a cow is actually killed on a bridge because it's in Patton's way. (I'll never watch that film again; what a ridiculous waste of a creature's life to provide completely unnecessary insight into the main character's psyche.) Carion, in his choice to film the slaughter, successfully depicted the hard reality of farm life for those who enter into food-animal production. Having said all that, my final decision is that although I understand where the director was coming from, this scene is ultimately too much; I regret to say that it ruins the film for me. I still admire the wonderful qualities of the film, but it's not one I'll ever want to watch again, even if I were to skip the objectionable scenes. No matter how much I justify it intellectually, I go back to what I said in the beginning; plain and simple, this is not an image I want in my head. It wasn't necessary, Carion could have gotten the idea across without submitting us to this. ("All Creatures Great and Small" comes to mind – a programme that succeeded in a realistic depiction of rural life without hitting us over the head with gory details.) Please understand that I don't believe farmers who raise animals for human consumption are evil. I've known farm families, having grown up in the Midwest, and they took good care of their livestock and made sure the creatures suffered as little as possible when it was time for slaughter. I'm vegetarian but I'm not a militant; I'm not against eating meat, I'm very much against factory farming. But I watch films to escape. Whereas I don't need everything sugar-coated, I do start to feel manipulated when filmmakers insist on showing us way more detail than necessary. As I sat watching "Une hirondelle a fait le printemps," I anticipated purchasing it and watching it repeatedly, until this scene came up. Unfortunately, it cast a depressing pall over an otherwise enriching movie experience. I know there are many reviewers here who love the film, and with good reason, there is plenty here to enjoy. I'm sorry to say that, for me, the bad outweighs the good.

TxMike This is a very nice movie that most English-speaking movie goers will never see. Here in the USA it has the title "Girl From Paris", but the French title translates to "one swallow brought spring." Mathilde Seigner, unknown to me before this movie, plays Sandrine Dumez, a single young lady, approaching 30, and living in Paris. One day while running late because of bad traffic, she decides to follow her dream, to get away from the city and become a farmer. This is her story, and also how her life touched that of an old man who thought he had nothing to live for. She was his 'swallow'. Although it is all in French, the subtitles are easy to read and is not a distraction at all. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story.SPOILERS FOLLOW. Sandrine enrolls in a two year school to study farming. She is one of the better students and a hard worker. She finds a farm to buy in a beautiful hilly area somewhere between Paris and Grenoble, probably closer to Grenoble. The old owner had lost his wife some years back, and was just tired of farming, but he didn't look kindly upon "school" farmers, and wasn't very helpful at first. In fact it seemed like he wanted her to fail, even though he had contracted to remain living there for 18 months. But he slowly warmed up to her when he saw how kind she was, and how hard she worked. She converted one building into a hotel and advertised it over the internet as "Balconies in the Sky." She sold her goat cheese over the internet. She worked hard every day. Her business was good.In a key scene during the cold winter, we see him causing a problem with her hotel's electricity, and we assume he is up to no good. But, what he wanted was for her to be near him, so without heat, he invited her to stay with him in the old guest bedroom. A few days later, he fixed the problem. They shared meals and conversation, and they even danced. Not long before, a sour old man, he now had a little joy in his life.After a particularly hard winter, Sandrine had to take a break, went back to Paris, even taught two days of an internet class. She considered whether she should go back, and decided to. The movie ends with her leading the goats back to the barn in the spring.

George Parker "The Girl From Paris" tiptoes liltingly though a slice of life of a young French city woman who buys a farm and finds herself wrestling with the rigors of farm life and the stoic, laconic, and crusty old previous owner. The odd couple put of with each other at the outset but as time passes they find something of value in one another and a tender, sensitive but mostly unspoken relationship emerges. A light drama about mutual needs in a bucolic milieu which explores a different kind of relationship, "The Girl From Paris" is a lovely little film with minimal dialogue worth a look for anyone into people flicks of the French persuasion. (B)

silverauk Sandrine Dumez (Mathilde Seignier) as a farmer and Adrien (Michel Serrault) the owner of the farm, make a debating couple about the future of the farmers in France. It is a hard job, why does a young wife as Sandrine Dumez choose for it? And why does she try to do it all alone? In her former nine to five job in an office as a teacher she was very good to. In her loneliness she has the time to appreciate nature and she lives in complete freedom and without attachment. Until the moment she encounters by accident a youth friend... Moving picture about the question of the choice in life between freedom in nature and companionableness in town.