Le goût des merveilles (The Sense of Wonder) is a 2015 French language film directed by Éric Besnard starring Virginie Efira and Benjamin Lavernhe.
Louise (Efira) is a widowed mother of two on the verge of losing her pear farm when she accidentally strikes Pierre (Lavernhe) with her car. He’s not very injured, in fact he hops right up and runs into the field. She finds him and discovers he’s bleeding from a slight head wound. He refuses an ambulance but is talked into going to her house where she can patch him up. He’s a bit stand-offish and not very talkative and she’s worried that something may be wrong, so she has him spend the night on her couch. The next day she drives him to the bookshop where he works and the owner reveals to her that Pierre is autistic.
Pierre has taken a liking to Louise and her children and continues to show up at her house, wanting to help her find a way out of debt to save the farm. The two start a friendship and find a way to help each other with their own problems.
This was a very sweet, feel-good film. Efira and Lavernhe had a great chemistry together. Lavernhe did a really great job displaying the true sense of wonder Pierre has of the world. The way he would study pollen floating through the air or describe how numbers look makes you want to view mundane things more closely. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, and now I want to grow pears and raise bees in the French countryside!
You can view this movie on Kanopy using your library card!
