illusoryjane

The age old story of unrequited love, and all of the torture that it brings...or is it? This is the story of Angelique (Audrey Tautou of Amelie) who is desperately in love with Loic (Samuel Le Bihan). Loic is married and refuses to leave his pregnant wife for Angelique.

The story is told first from Angelique's point of view, and shows the pain she suffers, and the attempts she makes to win her love. Then, we see things from Loic's point of view, which is astonishing.

This is a fascinating example of story-telling. The plot has a very interesting and unexpected twist. I hesitate to go into much detail about the plot for fear of spoiling the surprise, but I will say this story stands distinctly apart from the drab, predictable plots, and neat endings that we are so used to in American movies. Audrey Tautou is wonderful. She has such an expressive way about her. My prediction is that her popularity in film will only continue to grow.

My chief complaint in regards to this film is that apart from the way the story is presented, it lacks originality. However, the execution of the story is often 80% of it's value, so I find this to be a fairly minor complaint. I was also a little disappointed with the ending. It seemed a trifle contrived. Overall, I don't hesitate to highly recommend this film, but watch it from the beginning, don't tune in on cable halfway through the flick. As I said, without the plot twist, the story lacks originality. Don't miss how the story unfolds.

"Princess Caraboo" is about the selfish and fashionable endeavors of the aristocracy of 19th century England, about the role of true charity and from whence it comes, and perhaps most of all it is about humankind's fascination with the story. Although we catch glimpses of, and come to care for, the true character of Caraboo (Cates), the movie's namesake serves mainly as a vessel through which the subject of the film can flow.

In this movie a young beggar who speaks no English is taken in by a well-to-do family, and before long they have determined that she is a queen of the Orient. In no time, she is the town's sensation, and if nothing else, living like royalty. Her story attracts the attention of a newspaper man (Mr. Gutch played by Stephen Rea) who, in determinedly trying to discover the truth about Caraboo, falls in love with her. He half hopes the legend is true, half hopes that she's remarkable enough to have made up a story and a language and a manner to fool the very class she'd always been taught to fear and respect.

I liked this movie for many reasons. It must be said that it's decidedly predictable, but such is the case in movies that are not so much concerned with plot as with characters. The question is, are the characters worth making a movie about? They are. Cates is delightful as always, and in such a role in which she scarcely speaks, she has the opportunity to shine and to demonstrate (through action and manner) her ability to act the part. Stephen Rea is never to be outdone, and has a genuine ability to pull off passion in whatever role he plays. The British aristocracy is portrayed as largely grotesque and corrupt and mind-numbingly self-absorbed.

For my part, I always appreciate a movie that doesn't revolve around romance, and though this movie is touched with pieces of romanticism (definitely a chick-flick in certain ways), it's not about the romance. It is instead about how the story completes us, and how compelling the human imagination really is. Despite the moral values the film purports, Princess Caraboo is not didactic and short on sappiness.

I think "Princess Caraboo" is a delightful and beautiful tale, and I recommend it to those who prefer the story to the action, and who like to see the rich get theirs.