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Review

After escaping Iran, where their relationship would mean a death sentence, middle-aged lovers Hassan (Samir Guesmi) and Mohsen (writer/director Amor Hakkar) find themselves at a small-town station in France waiting for a train to Paris.

Sitting apart to avoid unwanted police attention, Mohsen, a linguist who speaks perfect French, soon strikes up a lively conversation with Yolande (Marina Vlady), an older well-groomed widow, traveling alone.

Finding his companionship stimulating, Yolande decides, on the spur of the moment, to offer Mohsen the opportunity of some day-labor work in her apartment. In need of the extra income, Hassan and Mohsen break short their journey and hole up in a cheap hotel, around the corner from Yolande.

Simple in its structure and its story-telling, A Few Days of Respite cleverly exposes the longings and achings of three human hearts, and the risky decisions you have to make to survive in an alien environment.

 -- Carol Coombes