I've Loved You So Long - B

On DVD

A French woman (Kristen Scott Thomas) is taken in by her younger sister (Elsa Zylberstein) and her family after a 15 year stint in prison. As she struggles to cope with life on the outside, her guard is slowly let down and past revelations will bubble to the surface. Everything you’ve heard about Thomas’s excellent, versatile performance is true. You can see a full, sad life behind her eyes. Much of the 117 minute running time is spent with the developing relationships between Thomas and her family members. Like many French films, much of the population seems to work very little and has plenty of time to pontificate, ruminate, and communicate. I could have used a 15-20 minute trim since the movie is short on plot, repetitive, and repetitive - especially in the first hour. But once the hints and deep connections begin, the movie finds a healthy stride. The last unforgettable scene (and the perfectly delivered last line) is well worth the wait. B

Click below for an even more meandering recent French film.


Flight of the Red Balloon – C

A single mother (Juliette Binoche) “works” at a local Parisian theater, helping to put on an intricate puppet show, complete with a bass clarinet. She has hired a new nanny for her son, who looks a lot like Danny Torrance. That’s it – there’s no plot. 115 minutes – nothing. There is some forced symbolism with a piano and a red balloon that keeps showing up. But none of it connects or makes sense, though I’m sure some will claim an intellectual discovery or profundity. Early in the film, a bus has a poster of Children of Men on its side and director Hou Hsiao-hsien (yes, it’s in French, but it's a Chinese nanny who loves artsy-fartsy films) lingers on it a little too long. He must have admired the long interrupted shots in Children of Men as most of us did, but stuff actually happened in those shots. Here, people cook dinner, practice the piano, play pinball, etc. If someone videotaped me during any random 115 minutes in my life, it would be more interesting than this. Except when I was watching this, then it's a toss-up. C