Video Review: 'The Accompanist' (1994)

Like the subtle art of the piano player quietly supporting the singer, The Accompanist ought not to pass unnoticed. As the shy pianist awed by her new employer, a glamorous classical singer (Elena Safonova), Romane Bohringer has the delicate yet worn look of a Manet portrait. Director Claude Miller's elegant period piece, set in World War II France, is charged with conflicting loyalties: The singer cheats with a Resistance fighter while her profiteering husband (Richard Bohringer, Romane's natural father) collaborates with the enemy. Caught emotionally between the husband and wife, the young pianist learns about loss; and the film, featuring some gorgeous music, leaves a bittersweet aftertaste. B+