Audience Member
Finally realistic movie with real characters and real people with real stories, not romantic bs from Hollywood.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A magistrally constructed film with a beautiful music score. Definitely Mouret at his best.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
La comedia humana (y mozartiana) / The human comedy (and Mozartian)
(Español / English)
Sumario
A lo largo de dos horas, Emmanuel Mouret (director y guionista) va desplegando esta admirable comedia humana (en el sentido balzaciano) de historias entrelazadas, con lo móviles de sus personajes centrados en el deseo y el amor y el delicado balance entre lo que se dicen, lo que hacen, lo que sienten, lo que (nos) muestran, los acuerdos tácitos o explícitos y lo imponderable. Y lo hace utilizando diferentes tonos y géneros y apoyado en actuaciones extraordinarias.
Reseña:
Maxime concurre a una casa de campo para pasar unos días con su primo Francois y Daphné, la pareja de éste. Pero Francois ha debido irse antes de su llegada y Maxime y Daphné pasarán unos días solos charlando y revelándose sus respectivas historias sentimentales.
Emmanuel Mouret (director y guinosta) logra un admirable mosaico de historias entrelazadas. En primer lugar, son dos los relatos principales, con sus respectivos puntos de vista: el de Daphné y el de Maxime, cada uno desarrollado con un tono diferente, con algo de voz en off introduciendo o comentando los flashbacks que se van alternando. Por otro lado, está el tiempo presente, donde el punto de vista es el del espectador. Luego se agregarán otros momentos con otros puntos de vista.
El inventario de situaciones es apabullante, expuestos sin prisa y sin pausa, con coqueteos, amistades, noviazgos, parejas, matrimonios e infidelidades, siempre poniendo de manifiesto la diferencia entre "lo que se dice y lo que se hace", a lo que yo agregaría "lo que se siente".
Y sí: se trata de una película francesa con una impronta literaria donde los personajes hablan bastante sobre qué les pasa, pero donde también callan otro tanto. El estilo del relato va remitiendo a varias cinematografías, según de qué historia y de qué personajes se trate y de en qué momento del relato nos hallemos: por momentos parece una película de Rohmer y en otros asoma un humor muy sutil cercano a Woody Allen, por ejemplo. Se combinan diferentes tonos de comedia (de enredos, romántica, sentimental), el melodrama y el drama, con un uso extraordinario de una banda sonora con música clásica que va de Purcell y Haydn hasta Poulenc. De este modo, la sucesión de escenas podría asimilarse también a una serie de recitativos y arias de una ópera de Mozart Pero más allá de las referencias y las influencias, el resultado es absolutamente personal.
Lejos de provocar dispersión, el guion entrelaza sólidamente las historias, va arrojando nueva luz en sus recovecos y el crescendo dramático es incesante, llegando a un clímax sumamente emotivo.
Dentro de un elenco sólido, sobresalen Niels Schneider como Maxime, un apocado aspirante a escritor (en las antípodas del manipulador Philippe que encarnara en Un amor imposible o del objeto de deseo de Los amores imaginarios de Dolan), Camélia Jordana que aporta toda su expresividad a Daphné, una editora de cine, Vincent Macaigne como el entrañable Francois, pareja de Daphne y la Louise de Émilie Dequenne, con todas sus sorprendentes aristas.
En suma. a lo largo de dos horas, Mouret va desplegando esta notable comedia humana en el sentido balzaciano, con lo móviles de sus personajes centrados en el deseo y el amor y el delicado balance entre lo que se dicen, lo que hacen, lo que sienten, lo que (nos y se) muestran y ocultan, los juegos de seducción, los acuerdos tácitos o explícitos, los renunciamientos, las confusiones, lo imponderable.
The human comedy (and Mozartian)
(Spanish / English)
Summary
Over two hours, Emmanuel Mouret (director and screenwriter) unfolds this admirable human comedy (in the Balzacian sense) of intertwined stories, with the motives of his characters centered on desire and love and the delicate balance between what They tell each other, what they do, what they feel, what they show (us), the tacit or explicit agreements and the imponderable. And he does it using different tones and genres and supported by extraordinary performances.
Review:
Maxime goes to a country house to spend a few days with his cousin Francois and Daphné, his partner. But Francois had to leave before his arrival and Maxime and Daphné will spend a few days alone chatting and revealing their respective sentimental stories.
Emmanuel Mouret (director and guinosta) achieves an admirable mosaic of intertwined stories. In the first place, there are two main stories, with their respective points of view: Daphné's and Maxime's, each developed with a different tone, with some voice-over introducing or commenting on the flashbacks that alternate. On the other hand, there is the present time, where the point of view is that of the spectator. Then other moments with other points of view will be added.
The inventory of situations is overwhelming, exposed without haste and without pause, with flirtations, friendships, courtships, couples, marriages and infidelities, always highlighting the difference between "what is said and what is done", to what I I would add "what it feels like."
And yes: it is a French film with a literary imprint where the characters talk a lot about what happens to them, but where they are also silent as much. The style of the story refers to various cinematographies, depending on which story and characters it is and at what point in the story we find ourselves: at times it seems like a Rohmer film and at others a very subtle humor close to Woody Allen appears, for example. Different tones of comedy (tangled, romantic, sentimental), melodrama and drama are combined, with extraordinary use of a soundtrack with classical music ranging from Purcell and Haydn to Poulenc. In this way, the sequence of scenes could also be assimilated to a series of recitatives and arias from a Mozart opera. But beyond the references and influences, the result is absolutely personal.
Far from causing dispersion, the script solidly interweaves the stories, sheds new light in their recesses and the dramatic crescendo is incessant, reaching an extremely emotional climax.
Within a solid cast, Niels Schneider stands out as Maxime, a timid aspiring writer (in the antipodes of the manipulative Philippe who played in An Impossible Love or the Object of Desire in Dolan's Imaginary Loves), Camélia Jordana who brings all her expressiveness to Daphné, a film editor, Vincent Macaigne as the endearing Francois, Daphne's partner and Émilie Dequenne's Louise, with all her surprising edges.
In sum. Over the course of two hours, Mouret unfolds this remarkable human comedy in the Balzacian sense, with the motives of his characters centered on desire and love and the delicate balance between what they say to each other, what they do, what they feel, what (to us and is) shown and hidden, seduction games, tacit or explicit agreements, renunciations, confusion, the imponderable.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An examination of selfish characters of differing levels of courage to say (or not) or do (or not) what they are drawn to in order to satisfy a relationship regardless of the consequences. Touching performances across the board
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This film begins as a regular French bedroom farce but (slight spoiler) there is a change in tone towards the end. The performances are very good. For those lucky enough to have visited Paris and Provence, the locations will bring back happy memories of the beauty of France (even in the colder and wetter months).
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
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