Bored with work? Wish you could take time off just to think things over? That's what Nathalie Baye does in this charming, if slight, French movie about a teacher who, facing a mid-life crisis, is fed up with screaming kids and piles of papers to grade. Baye, a François Truffaut discovery in 1973's Day for Night, is directed here by Bertrand Tavernier. She is lovely as the teacher; her looks uncannily reflect her moods—gorgeous when she's feeling confident, dowdy when the pain of decision-making is overwhelming. She meets older men (Michel Galabru and Philippe Noiret) who have funny, poignant tales to tell of their own undistinguished careers in school. That perspective helps her decide her future. There are no slam-bang plot points, no chase scenes, no confrontations. This is a movie to be seen on a gentle, rainy night. (In French with English subtitles) (R)
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