The Missing Half

Colour, 35 mm
Belgium, France, Switzerland, 2003, 87 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

Claire and eye surgeon Pierre are a happy couple. When the former finds out she is pregnant with twins, she sinks to a level of anguish that is soon uncontrollable. Then Claire takes a step which results in the breakup of her marriage. Plagued by guilt, she meets up once more with the 20-year-old blind young man who was once her husband’s favourite patient. The sensitive Laurent feels the woman’s pain and, even though he cannot fulfil his own yearning for love, almost without words, he is able to soften the consequences of the marital breakdown. The feelings Claire and Pierre have for one another could become a coping stone once more for both of them… The role of the disabled Laurent was played by 25-year-old Laurent Kuenhen who performs in the theatre group for handicapped actors Surprise et théatre.

About the director

Benoît Mariage (b. 1961, Virton) initially studied law and then directing at INSAS (National Film School). Since 1990 he has made a series of documentaries which he also produced through his own company Tram 33 (Un tour en Afrique, Némadis, Hindu, Une parole libre). He made the short feature Le signaleur in 1997, awarded at festivals in Brussels, Clermont-Ferrant and others. He made his first feature-length film The Carriers Are Waiting (Les convoyeurs attendent) in 1999, which won a César nomination, the Jury Prize in Viareggio and Best Actor in Chicago and was also screened in Karlovy Vary in 1999. “The story of the film The Missing Half is also about death, but I wanted my film to celebrate life as well and I hope that the viewers see it that way,” says the director. The Missing Half received the SIGNIS Award and Special Jury Prize for Best Film at Amiens IFF 2003.