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Brief Encounter poster

MOVIE · 1945

Brief Encounter

DramaRomance86 min

On a routine shopping trip, suburban housewife Laura Jesson meets a doctor at a railway station, and a chance acquaintance turns into a weekly attachment neither can easily dismiss. Celia Johnson is Laura, recounting the affair in flashback as ordinary errands, café meetings, and departures on a smoky platform take on new urgency. Opposite her, Trevor Howard’s Alec is just as aware of what their growing bond could cost. Directed by David Lean, the film stays close to small gestures, restrained conversation, and the pressure an illicit romance places on two already settled lives.

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