The story follows François (Jean-Claude Drouot), a young carpenter living in a suburban Parisian idyll. He is married to the luminous Thérèse (Claire Drouot), with whom he has two small children. Their life is a montage of Sunday picnics, golden-hour walks, and laughing children.
Every frame of Le Bonheur looks like a postcard. The red of Thérèse’s dress. The yellow of the sunflowers. The blue of the summer sky. This hyper-aesthetic palette creates a dissonance with the film’s moral weight. As viewers, we are seduced by the beauty, just as François is seduced by his own logic. The color becomes a cage. Varda once said, "I wanted the film to look like a box of chocolates—something sweet that hides a poisonous center." le bonheur 1965
Watch it. But do not watch it alone. And do not watch it expecting to feel good. Watch it to understand that the sunflowers, for all their beauty, grow from the earth that has swallowed the dead. The story follows François (Jean-Claude Drouot), a young