Directed by Bavo Defurne (North Sea Texas) and starring Isabelle Huppert (Elle - for which she won a Golden Globe; Amour; The Piano Teacher; The King's Daughters; Madame Bovary) and Kevin Azaïs (Love at First Fight; Neither Heaven Nor Earth; A Taste of Ink).

Romantic drama; 90 minutes; in French

Produced by Deal Productions in Luxembourg, Souvenir tells the tale of middle-aged Liliane (Isabelle Huppert) who works in a dead-end job in a paté factory. We start to realise that she, in fact, was a previous European Song Contest singer who has since faded into obscurity.

There she meets Jean (Kevin Azaïs) who is a number of years younger than her; he lives at home with his parents and aspires to be a boxer, but loses the fights the audience sees.

The two start a relationship which quickly becomes rocky; that is, until they start to plan her comeback and he becomes her manager. He succeeds in getting a few gigs for her, at retirement homes and local sporting events, amongst others. Then she enters a talent competition and they start to dream...

Similar in many ways to Calach Films' "Mammal", the film deals with the relationship between an older woman and a younger man, with both protagonists from very different backgrounds. In many ways, a "festival film", a mix between arthouse and commercial cinema.

Shot in Luxembourg, it is interesting to spot a number of outdoor locations used in the shooting, for example at the Grand Theatre where the lighting was used to great effect, and the Conservatoire. Solid acting, quite slow-moving in places, but intentional in order to covey the atmosphere.