Tuesday, June 20, 2006

A Nos Amours


One of the best movie columns in any newspaper is the one Mike Clark writes in the USA Today every Friday. In it he reviews the latest DDV releases. Not just the blockbusters, but small movies that are worth seeing. And thanks to that column I discovered this truly amazing film. It's one of the most realistic portrayals of adolescence you can see. All the aimlessness, boredom, danger, experimentation is here. But the movie does not judge. It does not take a point of view. And,most interestingly, the movie has almost no continuity. We get to know the main character Suzanne by seeing her in different situations, with her lovers, her family, her freinds, her father. But one scene does not lead to another. We have to fill in the spaces between the scenes. Just like meeting someone in real life. We can't know everything about that person. We just know them by the moments we spend with them.
So the movie can be strange for someone used to the Hollywood way of telling a story. But once you get used to it, it's a refreshing experience. 16 year old Sandrine Bonnaire plays Suzzane in her firt film role and she is amazing. One could inmediately tell she would become one of France's leading actresses. And the whole cast is amazing. Every person here feel real.It almost like watching a documentary about family, adolescence, sex, pain, sadness, longing.
This is a really special movie. It's from the Criterion Collection. And it's available at Borders.

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