The Owner of the Secret Garden: Madame Proust

Madame Proust's Secret Garden is a French film released in 2013, directed by Sylvain Chomet.

The main cast includes Bernadette Lafont and Hélène Vincent.

This film deals with stories about the life and works of Marcel Proust.

The protagonist, Paul, witnessed the death of his parents when he was young and has lived with nightmares ever since.

He is a 33-year-old amateur pianist who has lost his voice, and his family consists only of his aunts.

These aunts are conservative people who have chosen a modest life, and they want to raise Paul to be a fine pianist.

However, because of his past and his nightmares, Paul is unable to live properly in the present.

The film contains a deeply reflective story about memory, the present, and relationships with family, and through it, it makes us think about how we live with memory.

In this way, Madame Proust's Secret Garden is a film that offers insight into Marcel Proust's works and life along with an moving story, and it is regarded as a work that continues the reputation of French cinema.

But in reality, Paul’s life is just playing the piano at a neighborhood dance studio, and his life repeats very monotonously between accompanying classes and walking in the park.

Then one day, after following a blind piano tuner he had known for a while in order to return a record he had dropped, he ends up at Madame Proust's Secret Garden, where memories are brought back through madeleines and tea and trauma is healed.

Noticing that Paul is trapped by bad memories and unable to enjoy the present, Madame Proust and Andy suggest that Paul visit her secret garden once a week and confront memories from the past.

Paul, who wants to recall memories of his mother, accepts her suggestion.

And so, as Paul visits Madame Proust's Secret Garden, he comes face to face with his past.

While facing the wounds and pain of the past, Paul gradually learns to accept the past and enjoy the present, and with Madame Proust's wise advice and help, he slowly becomes healed.

Paul explores his inner self and accepts the pain of the past, eventually finding a new life.

At last, Paul overcomes his past and finds new hope and happiness. Through Madame Proust's healing process, Paul comes face to face with his memories of the past.

Happy and unhappy memories from childhood appear alternately, shaking his heart.

Without yet knowing the reason for his parents' deaths, he comes to realize that Madame Proust must end her life because of illness.

Paul then accepts that Madame Proust can no longer help him recover his memories and gains the chance to deal with his memories on his own.

As he realizes that the misunderstanding and negative memories about his father were fiction, Paul achieves good results in the youth piano competition he last took part in.

However, in the memories he later confronts, he realizes that his parents' death was caused by the piano, and as a result, anger and pain toward the piano arise.