All the people in this countryside area, can count on Jean-Pierre, the doctor who auscultates them, heals and reassures them day and night, 7 days a week. Now Jean-Pierre is sick, so he sees Natalie, a young doctor, coming from the hospital to assist him. But will she adapt to this new life and be able to replace the man that believed to be irreplaceable?
You can probably guess that the film will result in the building of mutual respect between the two but along the way there is humour, warmth and an understanding that what really matters in patient care is the human touch.
When you see something this real, it is extremely compelling, and you root for these doctors as they work against often impossible odds, and savor their small triumphs.
Lilti has a knack for holding on community members and the briefly seen so that their faces and concerns register, while being economical with the sentimentality. His film takes its tone from Jean-Pierre: caring but on the clock.
Persuasively played by fine leads and a well-cast ensemble, this thoughtful treatise captures provincial life and the medical mindset with authenticity and tact.
Professional insight was exploited more profitably in his breakthrough feature, the biting Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor (2014), than in this sensitive, faintly smarmy romance.
