Herzen

This is based on a piece by English playwright Ayckbourn. His is not a name that comes up frequently any more, but he had a long, successful run, specializing in relationships that mingled pathos with humor. This is one of these circular stories, that focus on a group of characters who are tangentially related, but who don't all know each other. There is Lionel the barman and his horrible, bedridden old father. The father is being cared for by Charlotte, who also works in a real estate office with Thierry. Lionel pours drinks for his alcoholic friend Dan, who is also a client of Thierry. Dan and his girlfriend are looking for an apartment, but their relationship is on the rocks.

All of the characters are struggling with some kind of loneliness or other, but it is presented in a light, amusing manner. A few of the characters are older than usual, which is good to see. I thought that the production design clashed somewhat with the realistic narrative. It is all obviously shot on soundstages, sometimes with garish colors, and for some reason the scene changes are noted with flurries of snow, as if it were a Christmas story.

Relationships. They can be funny and sad. There is the relationship of Charlotte (Sabine Azéma) with her co-worker Thierry (André Dussollier). She is very religious and lends him a video of religious music. Of course, when the TV program cuts off, he sees something I am sure she didn't mean for him to see. Or, did she? It is not clear.

Then there is Charlotte and Lionel's (Pierre Arditi) father Arthur (Claude Rich). She is working as a caregiver in the evenings and Arthur, whom we never see, is one cantankerous old bastard. he throws soup on her, speaks foully, and screams at her.

Lionel, a bartender, has to deal with his father, and with Dan (Lambert Wilson), who got kicked out of the Army six months ago and is getting hell from his fiancée, Nicole (Laura Morante) for not finding a job. He spends his time getting plastered.

Thierry and Charlotte are funny the next day discussing the tape. Charlotte has no idea what she left on the end. Thierry is looking forward to another tape. He is not disappointed. Of course, after the second tape, he moves forward with disastrous results, but Charlotte exposes her secret to Lionel and it is just the thing to shut him up. Naturally, she has to do a lot of praying afterward.

Like I said, there is a lot that is funny, and a whole lot that is sad, but isn't that the way relationships are? Alain Resnais got a lot out of some very talented actors and presented a film that was thoroughly enjoyable.

What's good about this film are the Resnais trademarks - the beautiful apartments, the interesting details of decor and props, the great camera-work, the excellent acting from an attractive cast, the acute observation of people's behaviour, motivations and relationships. So, why the moderate score? All this attention on surface appearances results in a certain superficiality. Several unconnected stories, while not an unknown approach, create a certain distance from the characters. Influential relationships, for example father-son, are not shown on screen. And as in many French films, no-one seems to work much or has to deal with real world problems outside of relationships. There's little real logic in story lines or outcomes. There's also a certain clumsy dependence on overt clichés: video porn is compelling for men but denounced by women, men need space and women need children, there are difficult old men and naive young women, misunderstandings abound. Like candy floss or indeed video porn, enjoyable at the time, but it doesn't leave lasting memories.

In a snowing Paris, six lonely dwellers have their lives entwined while seeking for love: Nicole (Laura Morante) is looking for a three bedroom apartment to move with her fiancé Dan (Lambert Wilson), who is unemployed and has drinking problem. Her middle-aged real estate agent Thierry (André Dussollier) lives with his younger sister Gaëlle (Isabelle Carré) that tells him that party with her girlfriends every night. However Gaëlle indeed spends her nights alone in cafeterias waiting for blind dates that never appear for the encounter. Thierry's colleague is the pious and repressed Charlotte (Sabine Azéma) that loans a videotape with a musical religious show to him. But in the end, Thierry sees her in an erotic dance and he believes she is sending a sign for to him. Charlotte is nursing during the nights the aggressive and nasty father of the bartender Lionel (Pierre Arditi) that attends Dan every night in his bar.

"Coeurs" is an overrated and pointless tale of loneliness. The cold and snowing Paris is a kind of metaphor to the frustration in the relationship of the uptight characters that are afraid to deliver themselves to their passions. However the hype surrounding this movie increased my disappointment with the melancholic story. The characters are charismatic and likable and it is easy to the viewer to sympathize with them. Nevertheless the gorgeous Isabelle Carré is miscast in the role Gaëlle, since she is younger and younger than her brother and she is so beautiful that I can not understand how she does not succeed in her blind dates. There are good dialogs but the conclusion is too open and frustrating for a 120 minutes running time feature that gives the sensation of "so what?" to the viewer. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Medos Privados em Lugares Públicos" ("Private Fears in Public Spaces")

I've just seen the movie today, and enjoyed it a lot, even if I won't range it among my Resnais favorites. The story in itself is simple but full of allusions and "non-dits". It reminds me altogether of "Smoking/No Smoking", without the narrative twist, and "On connaît la chanson", without the songs. I like the way Resnais creates a whole universe, half realistic, half dreamlike, with only six characters, limited sets and omnipresent snow. These six characters struggle with loneliness, butting against various obstacles : wrong match, bad luck, lack of will or perverse manipulation. The general atmosphere is kind of sad, but in a cool and soft way (snowy if I may say so), and with humorous touches, especially all that relates to videotapes and an invisible but perfectly audible grumpy old man played by Claude Rich (which makes seven characters actually). The acting is impeccable, with a special note for Sabine Azema, André Dussolier and Pierre Arditi. And an interesting cast for Lambert Wilson (playing against type).