Joan Verra is an independent, loving woman with a free and adventurous spirit. When her first love returns without warning after years of absence, she decides not to tell him that they had a son together. This lie by omission is an opportunity for her to revisit her life: her youth in Ireland, her professional success, her loves and her relationship with her son. A seemingly fulfilled life, but one which hides a secret that she will have to face.
Filming took place for a week in Cologne, Germany, four weeks in Lyon, France and six days in Dublin, Ireland.[4]
The film is a French-German-Irish co-production. Laurent Larivière wrote the script with François Decodts with the intent of making a "novel-like film spanning different periods over forty years in different countries, a film in which you could hear several languages." Four languages can be heard spoken in the film: English, German, French, and a bit of Japanese at the end of the film.[5]
Release
The film was an official selection at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, in the section Berlinale Special Gala.[6] It had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on 15 February 2022.[7] On this occasion, the actress Isabelle Huppert received the Honorary Golden Bear for her entire career.[8] It was screened at the Dublin International Film Festival on 25 February 2022.[9] It was theatrically released in Germany by Camino Filmverleih on 31 August 2022.[10] It was theatrically released in France by Haut et Court on 14 September 2022.[11]
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10.[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 5 critic reviews indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13]About Joan received an average rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 20 reviews.[14]
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