Last Dance (2022)

Lise and Germain are a very close couple in their seventies. Lise enthusiastically throws herself into artistic projects, while Germain prefers to stay at home reading Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. As Lise begins rehearsing for a contemporary dance performance by choreographer Maria Ribot, involving both professional and amateur dancers, she suddenly dies. To honor a promise he had made to her, Germain decides to take her place in the performance. Their children, deeply shaken by their mother’s sudden death, do not think he can manage on his own. They draw up a strict rota so they can take turns keeping an eye on him, and arrange with their neighbor Élisabeth to prepare his meals. Germain does not tell them he is taking part in the performance, convinced they would not accept it. At first, Germain is quite skeptical about Ribot’s show because he is unfamiliar with contemporary dance. Maria Ribot, however, thinks Germain brings a great deal to the performance and eventually gives him a key role. Germain gradually becomes more comfortable, but struggles to explain his absences to his children, and why he sometimes does not answer the phone. Germain writes letters to Lise telling her about his experience and feelings, then hides them in books at the municipal library. His granddaughter asks him to help her sneak away for a weekend with her boyfriend while she is preparing for a difficult exam: can she pretend she has come to stay with him to study? Germain agrees, and when she gets good results on her exam, the whole family praises his skills as a tutor. To “keep him occupied,” his daughter then decides to sign him up for a program in which older people help teenagers who are struggling at school. So young Jennifer will come to Germain’s house every day after school, much to neither of their delight. Germain is forced to bring Jennifer along to rehearsals, and buys her silence by doing her homework for her. Jennifer has an assignment to do following an exhibition at the municipal library featuring papers found inside library books. Germain realizes that some of the letters he exchanged with Lise are part of it. He then explains to Jennifer and Samir, his partner in the performance, that he met his wife at the library, and that because he lacked the courage to approach her, they had exchanged letters for many months by leaving them in books. As Germain’s children find his behavior increasingly strange, they ask him to undergo a neurological assessment. The neurologist is a dance enthusiast, so he agrees not to investigate too deeply in exchange for a few invitations to the premiere. For the premiere, Germain invites his family. At first they are surprised, but in the end they are won over. Bringing Lise’s project to life has helped Germain gradually accept her death, and he now feels free to carry on with his life.