15, 93 mins
Almost Peaceful is a smallscale film about a weighty subject — the aftermath of the Second World War seen through the eyes of the decimated French Jewish community. Set mainly in a workshop in the garment district of Paris, 1946, the film feels as though it would function better with the intimacy of theatre or television, rather than the big screen. Based on a book, Quoi de neuf sur la guerre?, it deals with a group of people learning to live again. A strong ensemble cast helps to draw the audience in, but ultimately this story feels too diffuse to work as a piece of cinema.