I just LOVE French movies, they are so personal and I haven’t found other cinema that can touch your most sensible fibers as French cinema does. The stories they tell that totally allow you to see whatever is relevant to you the viewer, the amazing directors that slowly show the most little nuances of life, and the amazing actors performances that say everything without uttering many words.Yes, this movie REALLY touched me because of the story I saw that has something to do with the story the movie tells, but not totally. To explain myself let me tell you what is the story about. After 15 years in jail Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) comes back to the outside world were everything not only seems foreign but there is not one moment were she and others can forget where she has been for the last 15 years. As a character says, she’s lucky as she has a place to go when most ex-prisoners have nowhere to go. She’s staying with her married sister Léa (Elsa Zylberstein). Slowly you will learn why she was in jail, why her sister took her in and many other little details.
To me the story is about any kind of prisons and when you’re finally able to release yourself things just get even harder and sometimes you’re able to overcome everything (like in the story the movie tells) but sometimes you just get into another kind of prison.
Anyway, I was “dying” to see this movie and believe me it highly surpassed my expectations as these two sisters drama is unbelievable strong no matter how you see it and basically Kristin Scott Thomas stole the movie with a truly amazing performance as the silent and very expressive Juliette; but great Elsa Zylberstein also is amazing as the kind and caring -yet troubled- sister.
This Philippe Claudel film that he also wrote has great cinematography and tech specs, but in my opinion this film is all about the story (BIG chapeau to Claudel the writer) and the two great actresses performances. The film was in competition for the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlinale where won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Reader Jury of the “Berliner Morgenpost”. Since then it has been screened in many fests, just browse the blog to find many.
This movie took me in such an emotional voyage that I’m absolutely exhausted, as allowed me to feel happy and sad at the same time. I wonder if any of you had/have a similar experience, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of my known readers did too. Perhaps this is one of the most not objective reviews I have written, but it is impossible not to be subjective with this movie and story.
I strongly recommend this movie to all that love excellent French cinema and especially to all adult women in the world. Be aware that perhaps some you may shred a tear or two; for me it was an ocean of tears!
BIG ENJOY!!!
So, here I am ...
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your comment about this movie and "The Reader" I'm just starting to think that you are more kind of a Yoda type than a Dark side!
Anyway...
I have to say that I like this film as an overall. It's not my cup of tea at all but it was a good piece.
The story was good, really good. It was great developed. I loved how they explained little by little all what was going on in their lives; you were feed spoon by spoon until your plate was finished.
The cinematography was really nice too, cold but a great complement to a sad story.
I loved all the actors and actress... including the little girl, she was really good!
There was only one big problem for me in this movie, a big problem that from my point of view, it kills it (although NOBODY apparently agrees with me!!): She has been in jail for 15 long horrible years... fifteen!!! not two or four... fifteen!! and apparently she needed just a few days to find: a good job, a good house, a good boyfriend...etc
I don't know but for me the movie was great until she started to recover... maybe it was "too quick" for my test. I don't know why I felt that the film shouldn't have had a "happy" ending...I think that she should have appeared physically more rough...
I know it's a tiny point that shouldn't opaque the rest good things of the movie, but that tiny point, made me disliked the movie a bit.
I tend to think that the amount of time spent in prison is not relevant to this story or better, to the story I saw... (he, he). What is relevant (for me) is that she got out of one prison and got into another that was (to me) worst than the other...
ReplyDeleteThen I'm still very subjective when it comes to remember this movie that I simply LOVED a LOT! ;)