Irene (Yolande Moreau) is a 45-year-old actress who has found her niche by performing a one-woman show, "Dirty Business," in northern France. She obviously savors the freedom of the road and the delight of being on stage. The character she plays is a woman wearing a face distorting mask who gets in trouble with the law and falls in love. The audiences at cultural centers and retirement homes seem uneasy with the material in her sex and crime skit but then are drawn into laughter by the character's vulnerability and yearning for love.
Irene occasionally phones home where her husband is looking after their son and working on a tiling project in their residence. One day her car conks out on the road, and Dries (Will Willaert) arrives on his scooter and helps her out. In gratitude, Irene gives him tickets to her next performance. He shows up with a buddy, and she beckons him up to the stage to play her accomplice/lover in a mock robbery. After the show, they all go out for drinks.
Dries likes Irene very much and shows up the next night. When some rude latecomers interrupt the performance, he tries to quiet them and is later beaten up by the men. Irene gives him a ride home and learns that he also is a performer of sorts. He works on large giants and then carries them in various parades. He is a very childlike fellow who loves to play. Irene patches up his head, and he stays the night. Recognizing that they have a lot in common with their counterculture lifestyle, they begin a romance.
When The Sea Rises is a delightful romantic comedy written and directed by Yolande Moreau and cinematographer Gilles Porte. At first, these two eccentrics seems to be soulmates. Richard Bach has taken a stab at what this term means: " A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys and keys that fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are: we can be loved for who we are and not for who we are pretending to be." The problem that surfaces in Irene and Dries' carefree romance is that neither of them really wants to be completely honest with the other. Irene is shocked when he takes her to visit his foster parents and introduces her as his wife. He is taken aback when she wants to end the relationship on account of his immaturity.
The bittersweet ending leaves Irene and Dries a bit wiser and more resilient. They have shared some pleasures on stage together and seen how important it is to take off the locks that bind them. Not bad for a light-hearted romantic comedy. No wonder When the Sea Rises was winner of a 2005 Cesar in France for Best First Film.
