I spent a while thinking of what to write about this bizarre movie. I am a fan of both Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Beart (who, I believe, are married in real life), and their performances in this film are strong and are not what disappointed me.
I believe that this film was intended to be a psychological drama about the love between Auteuil's and Beart's characters. However, the problem is that absolutely no progression was made from the beginning of the movie to the end of the movie. We (and they) end up in exactly the same place, leaving the viewer asking in the final scene, "That was it??" The ramifications of their relationship, if you can call it that, do not even compel these characters to make changes in their own lives.
Maybe being an American has made me accustomed to films where there is a happy ending and the romance wins out in the end. But this movie, if a depiction of what happens in real life and not just American films where the guy gets the girl in the end, is deeply disturbing and a sad commentary on the nature of the human condition. These characters really saddened me -- Auteuil's, because he is the one with the cold heart, and Beart because she seems to accept anguish and just go back to what she was doing as though nothing had happened. The viewers are left with many unanswered questions because we are not allowed to get to know the characters well enough to understand why they made some of the choices they did and why they said some of the things that they said.
If you want to be depressed, and watch an hour and a half of anguish, then this is a good choice for you. I gave this movie a 7 because most aspects of the movie (acting, music, etc.) were superb, I guess the ending just was not what I expected.
An interesting note -- I believe that Emmanuelle actually learned to play the violin (and very well, I might add) for this role. Quite impressive!
I believe that this film was intended to be a psychological drama about the love between Auteuil's and Beart's characters. However, the problem is that absolutely no progression was made from the beginning of the movie to the end of the movie. We (and they) end up in exactly the same place, leaving the viewer asking in the final scene, "That was it??" The ramifications of their relationship, if you can call it that, do not even compel these characters to make changes in their own lives.
Maybe being an American has made me accustomed to films where there is a happy ending and the romance wins out in the end. But this movie, if a depiction of what happens in real life and not just American films where the guy gets the girl in the end, is deeply disturbing and a sad commentary on the nature of the human condition. These characters really saddened me -- Auteuil's, because he is the one with the cold heart, and Beart because she seems to accept anguish and just go back to what she was doing as though nothing had happened. The viewers are left with many unanswered questions because we are not allowed to get to know the characters well enough to understand why they made some of the choices they did and why they said some of the things that they said.
If you want to be depressed, and watch an hour and a half of anguish, then this is a good choice for you. I gave this movie a 7 because most aspects of the movie (acting, music, etc.) were superb, I guess the ending just was not what I expected.
An interesting note -- I believe that Emmanuelle actually learned to play the violin (and very well, I might add) for this role. Quite impressive!