Un + Une

I have to confess that I have not watched the first film of the director about a man and a woman in order to use it as a criterion of comparison. I simply evaluate this movie independently. There is a certain aspect which I found amazingly pertinent, current and within the realities of modern western life. When the two protagonists speak to each other during certain scenes of the movie the wife of the ambassador played by Elsa Zylberstein describes certain feelings and thoughts she has about self-realization, communication with the universe and other ideas pertaining to New Age spirituality. The protagonist answers with irony. Later the spiritual longings of the lady are satisfied through a pilgrimage to the river Ganges and a visit to a modern day Indian Hinduist saint. In short she has the fascination of the affluent westerners with supposed oriental wisdom. I loved this aspect of the movie as it was portrayed by witty dialogues and the real as well as the esoteric and spiritual journey of the protagonists through India. If you observe the success of figures as the Dalai Lama with western audiences or read magazines such as the French "Le Monde des Religions" you will have a picture of this unmistakable trend in affluent Western countries as France and Britain. It forms the backbone of the film which is also a love story.

The colorful depiction of India and the lively and lovely actors as well as the music add to the total impressive ambiance of this movie. But for me the fascination with the East as a place of spiritual self-discovery and the dialogues where Anna Hamon the ambassador's wife played by Elsa Zylberstein expresses herself freely in a flow of New Age speak, stand as monuments of perceptiveness about how a considerable number of women and men in the West think, fantasize and feel about the alleged spiritual qualities of an imaginary East.

Apart from the amazing setting and acting, this is far and foremost a tale about our western shallowness and approach to life in comparison to hinduist India where people don't have as much comfort but nonetheless are happier beings, without arrogance and irrelevant questioniongs that drown us in our day to day western lives. This movie was beautiful for its wit and depth that many failed to appreciate. Lelouche is not only a cinematographic master but also a poet.

Beautiful French movie. Beautiful images of India.

Stay with it, it's worth it! Luscious photography, intriguing plot, romantic and some of the best acting I've seen. I gained a deeper understanding of India and its sad, deep, beauty. And, wow, excellent direction by Claude Lelouch.

The main bulk of this movie has already been touched on in the spiritual sense, however with regards to the human value - TWO human beings being together and out of sorts with the world that views them, I strongly felt that this beautiful movie had something from "Lost In Translation".

I went away with my feet barely touching the ground and with a spring in my soul.