Vivir deprisa, amar despacio

Maybe, the fundamental virtue of film is to demonstrate nothing. It is only a story about relationship, about choices, love, life, happiness and fall. Not for impress, not for be manifesto, it seems more a sort of confession to the viewer, exploration of pieces of life, delicate confesions and easy portraits of the imposibility to be the expected one by the other and invitation to discover, from other perspective, the life. No doubts, a beautiful film but, unfortunatelly, not the most convincing. But nice.

The world has changed a lot since the French New Wave. Audiences have shorter attention spans and don't seem to enjoy literary films as much. I gage if a film is too long by whether I look at my watch in a cinema or pause a streaming one at home to see how mich is left. I did neither on this film.

I was pulled into this film's world. It's yet another film that reminds me that I love the French cinema. This witty, complex, sexy, dramatic, funny, intelligent, literary, romantic, completely honest portrait of gay life in 1993, captured nuances of gay life not seen in American film. The acting is terrific.

Two men fall in love with the idea of the other during the AIDS crisis and all hell breaks loose. Of course this is a storyline we've seen so many times in cinemas, but the truth is the approach in this one is very romantic and unique. The end result is sadly something I was expecting and of course not as powerful as it should have been. The main theme is not the AIDS pandemic but rather the way two people can fall in love so unexpectedly even if their lives are set in different directions. The movie drags a lot, is really slow-paced at times and the main protagonists are not always in focus thus never showcasing their chemistry. This could have been a different movie but sadly it almost feels unfinished or not fully realised.

This movie really made me feel great and calm, it's cute beautiful and heart-wrenching. first, the direction, Aesthetic, and production are very elegant it feels nostalgic and greeting and the non-linear, original way the story is told is very captivating. a charming story about two totally different men and their not so love at first sight romance. a perfect portrayal of gay men lives in the french 90, clandestine sex, aids, and loneliness tackled with a warming and funny manner it's truly the kind of movie that puts butterflies in your stomach, the production, the direction the story and the acting everything is top. it's very touching, funny, heartbreaking and it made me miss Paris & want to go there. I had a wonderful time this film made me want to live again; to explore and love; the romance between Jacques and Arthur as unconventional as it is was pleasing plus Pierre Deladonchamps was very touching and faultless in his role. one of the best movies I saw this year

To Please, to Love, and to Run Quickly is nowhere near the sentimental use of the word sorry, and who is the angel? I also dislike the three in a bed image used on the poster as it bears little resemblance to the content of the film. I will give no spoilers, but I did not see one sexual threesome. and to be honest the sexuality in the film was coy and of the 'hide the penis at all costs' school. For those who have read my reviews please see the one on 'Theo and Hugo'.

I have awarded this film 7/10 because I thought it was a good film but not as good as it could have been. The dialogue in French is brutally difficult to follow as there is a lot of slurping over words and saying things in a way that you can only truly follow if you are in the same room with the people speaking, and then .... I found the characters drab, and the bisexual Breton tiresome.

And now for a major criticism about films set in the past about Aids. Where were the films during that period of the crisis? This retro look back makes me angry. Film makers should have had the courage back then to deal with this period in our history. Films like 'Theo and Hugo' are masterful as they deal with the situation now and are up to date. One reviewer here summed this up for me. He or she says, love-and romanticism-in the days of AIDS. In the days of? This is not a past thing. The days are now. Homosexuality and HIV are now. And yes as a friend of mine said, they need to know how it was, but frankly with a still on-going crisis we need to know how it IS.

One good element of this film is that it shows a child in a homosexual household in a positive way, and despite my slight boredom with the relationships, it is at least about an important issue. French film is waking up to homosexuality thanks to a list of good directors, and the dark negativity of the Nouvelle Vague, where love was strictly heterosexual, has slipped back into the waters from where it came. The Nouvelle Vague liberated image, but was feeble on diversity and dodgy on politics. Honore is a great director, but I am still waiting for his great film.