A soldier returns to a small village in northern France, having survived the First World War, only to learn that his wife has died and his infant daughter Juliette is being cared for by a tough and benevolent neighbor. The film unfolds over twenty years of Juliette’s life as the tender bond between father and daughter strengthens with each obstacle, and as the young woman’s aspirations transcend the offerings of their pastoral village. a free-spirited young woman reckoning with a local witch’s prophecy for her future and falling for the modern man (Louis Garrel) who literally drops from the sky. In his first film made in France, Pietro Marcello proves again that he is as comfortable in the realm of folklore as he is in creative nonfiction, delicately interweaving realist drama, ethereal romance, and musical flights of fancy.
Scarlet is based on a beloved 1923 novel by Russian writer Alexander Grin and the first French-language film by Italian filmmaker Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden).
In French with English subtitles ♦ 103 minutes Pietro Marcello, the celebrated director of the 2019 hit Martin Eden, is back witha a surprisingly different kind of cinematic experience. a memorable portrait of a father-daughter relationship that washes over the audience like a dream. – Film Threat
Scarlet is a fascinating, slippery movie filled with lyrical beauty, acts of barbarism, moments of magic and unexpected hope.” – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“Its pleasures are as diverse and unexpected as a stroll through uncharted lands… another transfixing blend, this time of historical space and folk-tale wonder.” – The Los Angeles Times
