Virginie Efira is the most important French-speaking actress to emerge in the last 10 years, and she solidified her newly won status earlier this year, with a best actress Cesar Award for her performance in “Revoir Paris.” Originally a perky presenter on Belgium television, Efira has demonstrated her gifts in a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama.
“Revoir Paris” is on the somber side of her range, the story of a woman who, impulsively, goes into a bistro to have a drink and ends up the victim of a deadly terrorist attack. She recovers, but has no memory of the event, and most of the film concerns her effort to piece together what happened to her and those around her. Efira is extraordinary, and after you’ve seen her in this — “Revoir Paris” opens at the Smith Rafael Film Center — make sure to catch her in “Benedetta,” in which she plays a nun.