Review: An outstanding French drama explores the joy and pain of 'Other People's Children'

The superb French drama "Other People's Children" opens on the Eiffel Tower at night — a timeless romantic image that floods you with warmth and maybe induces a chuckle. It's a cliche, oui, but a wittily, knowingly deployed one. The tower's famous beacon shimmers across the famous city that's home to our radiantly beautiful 40-year-old heroine, Rachel (Virginie Efira), who makes her way through a busy, fulfilling life that plays, at first, like dreamiest fantasy. With deft, flowing camerawork and a burst of Vivaldi, the opening sequence finds Rachel teaching high-school students and chattering with colleagues, whisks her off on a quick car ride with a friendly ex, deposits her at an evening guitar