A LA FOLIE... PAS DU TOUT (HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT)

This is really one of those films that sparked something in me. I don’t know how to describe it, but I have always had the utmost love and respect for this film, as it were. Now it’s not the best known of films by far. And again, I know, thinking back I most definitely do have a “thing” for French cinema, but then again, come on. Who can blame me?  This film has a special place for me in short, and I cannot believe that I have completely overlooked it. I had to triple-check my previous posts. But no. It isn’t there. Well, it is now.

Angelique (Audrey Tatou) is an art student living in Paris. Her life seems to be going pretty well. She has just won a prestigious grant to exhibit her work in a very famous gallery, she has friends who love her and a man she is simply mad about. There is a small thorn in this rose garden however, as Loic (Samuel Le Bihan) – the afore mentioned man – is married. Angelique however, is confident he will leave his wife for her and that any day now, they will sail off into the sunset together… However, when viewed from Loic’s perspective there is something much, much more sinister going on here. Confused? So is Loic…

I do fully realise that there are many things about this film that may put you off at the beginning. Firstly, it was released in the wake of Amelie, when Audrey Tatou briefly became one of those names that seem to appear in every single French film released abroad. Amelie was great, but people got a bit sick of seeing her as I recall. And the first half of the film is disturbingly like Amelie – in fact it is quite plain that Tatou draws from the same character up to a certain point. Plus, when you watch just the first half, you might easily think that this is a very, very second rate love story. It seemingly uses all the classic tropes of melodrama and seems to offer nothing up in way of an argument to not abandon it mid-film and search for something better to do. Don’t do that. Really, don’t. The film is all about changes of perspective, and it reminds me A LOT OF David Fincher’s Fight Club in that respect. There is one key piece of information, and when it slots into place, the film changes tone. Suddenly it is no longer a sappy love film but actually full of tension and danger. There are actual deaths and Loic must use all is resources to actually protect his family and himself. It sounds like a clash of films that couldn’t possibly go together right? Wrong. And do yourself a favour. Don’t research the film too much. Try not to read the blurb on the cover – it actually gives the game away where I live atm. This film was made to be watched and left to unfurl on you at its own pace. You’ll enjoy it a lot better.

I also love this film because it is, actually, rather a novel take on Amelie. Think about it. If Amelie actually existed in real life, after all the things she does throughout the film could you with a straight face call her sane? Could you be sure that she wouldn’t actually hurt someone? Does love actually “tame” us all the way Hollywood would have us believe?  There are a lot of interesting questions being asked here… I feel you will be glad you stopped to consider it too J

A TRUE STORY ABOUT TRUE LOVE : "COCO AVANT CHANEL"

This is yet another film I have been meaning to watch for ages. It’s all about tidying up and tying up loose ends these days for me, don’t ask me why. Coco would be proud of me. Well, possibly not of the state my living quarters are in at the moment but of the intention. I think. Hmm. Anyway, so the film. The film that was nominated for an Oscar®, won awards and is one of the most touching love stories I have heard for a long time. Not least because it’s a true story… This is the true story of the extraordinary life and love of an extraordinary woman.

Gabrielle Chanel and her sister Adrienne were dumped at an orphanage to be taken care of by nuns at a very young age. The two sisters rely only on each other and take care of themselves as best they can, mainly by singing and performing in rather dodgy dives, live modest lives but dream of fortune. Adrienne is more feminine, outgoing, “charming” if you will. Gabrielle is serious, the more sensible of the two but has her own way of going about things. She is strong and independent and she is afraid to neither follow her heart nor speak her mind openly. These are not qualities that are appreciated in a woman of the early 20^th Century. Still, the fates conspire that Gabrielle meets Etienne Balsan, a rich businessman a bit older than her through her sister (who unlike Gabrielle, has many suitors, one of them a Baron no less). Etienne is not particularly good looking or deep intellectually and emotionally, but he has a certain charm. Gabrielle does not believe in happy endings or love, but she has nowhere to go after her sister moves in with her Baron and Gabrielle loses their singing job. Thus, much to her own disgust, she finds herself in the position of a “hanger on” with Balsan. Balsan’s group of giddy Parisien friends awaken nothing but disdain in the heart of Gabrielle. But to be fair, there are a few that are quite alright. The actress Emilenne d’Alençon, for example proves a good friend to Gabrielle for all her terrible taste in clothes. And then there’s the handsome, cultured, enigmatic British businessman Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel…  

You probably can guess the rest. Well, the most important bit anyway. It is a truly great love story, it is a great story about true love. The film itself is utterly spectacular. Audrey Tatou is brilliant as the slightly taciturn Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel . I mean, to be honest I pretty much like anything Tatou acts in but in my opinion, this film deserves a separate place on its own. Coco Chanel was not, by all accounts, the easiest person to get on with. The film makes it quite clear how this came about though, I mean of course, part of it is nature but the greatest part comes from having had a difficult life. Yet as the film continues we slowly get to know her, we understand her point of view. I mean, this is mostly the aim of biographical films, it is not always achieved however and this is, for me, what makes or breaks a biographical film. This film definitely “makes it”. So when, towards the middle of the film, Gabrielle meets Boy Capel, the great love of her life, you are positively rooting for her and praying things work out. If you know the least thing about Coco Chanel, you probably know she never married. But well, I’ll let you watch the film and discover how that came about.

This film is beautiful and emotional. It is a love story, biography AND period piece. So guess what, I’m the tiniest bit in love with it. So give it a go. Come on, surely you trust me by now?

A MATTER OF LIFE, DEATH AND "A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT"

I know we did say that the theme of this week was death. And yet, I hear you cry, this is a romance! What the blazes is it doing here? Well, I reckon it fits. First of all, a lot of it is set during the First World War, in the trenches. And honestly, history teaches us that it doesn’t get much more death filled than that. But apart from that, this is the story of Mathilde, who refuses to believe that her fiancée is dead – even though there are multiple clues to the contrary. So it kind of fits. Death is constantly present, hovering over us, even though the theme of the film is love. Does it prevail or not, however? Ha ha. As if I’d tell you… =) For Mathilde and Manech it has been true love from the very start. Since they were children. So when the authorities come to fetch him away to go to the Somme in 1917, it is truly heart-wrenching but they know their love is strong and will keep them going over distances and difficulties. Come 1919, Manech has not returned. Official reports make it quite clear he is dead. Soldiers claim to have witnessed his death – or something pretty close at any rate – as he was left to die with four other men in no man’s land for self-inflicted wounds. Mathilde, however, knows otherwise. She and Manech are connected. If he were dead, she would know. Thus starts an amazing journey, searching for the truth. Mathilde seems to be seeking to overcome death itself but the question is, is she simply being overly hopeful? Or is her heart actually leading her to a truly amazing truth? This film is another brilliant example of the story, the director and the actress fitting together almost perfectly. Audrey Tatou, who a few years before the film had carved out a bit of immortality for herself as Amelie is extraordinary. The role suits her very well, as she needs to be a bit “extraordinary” like Amelie, yet Tatou manages very well to combine this quality with a more serious note that is demanded by the film. In this 20th century fairy tale, she is a very realistic and very believable, sympathetic character. As for Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director, I am well on the way to becoming one of his greatest fans. What I admire him for most is his ability to give a fairy-tale / other-worldly feel to every single set he touches. And he makes it work. It is the same quality but slightly different every time, and in my book it is this ability to keep the basic quality while adapting ever so slightly to fit the situation that makes an artist great and Jeunet (and Tatou incidentally) have this quality by the bucket-load. We are all told how impossible to imagine the horrors of trench warfare are. I think this is exactly why Jeunet is such a good choice as the director of this film. He is able, I would say, to convey the “unrealness” of it all without falling into melodrama or clichés. The trenches he creates, the story he tells are so horrible they are actually completely believable. And probably, though very few people alive today would know for sure, quite close to what actually happened. In the same way, the love between Mathilde and Manech is so extraordinary it is quite believable. After all, falling in love is one of the most unbelievable things possible. And this is possibly why it is so hard to find really good quality love films that are not “gooey” or clichés. This, I am glad to say, is one of them. P.S. I had spotted the odd celebrity face here and there throughout the film but it was only when I was preparing to publish this and saw the whole list "en masse" as it were that I realised how monumental the cast actually was. See how many of them you can spot, some of them are just side characters :)