Lovers - Dogme France #1

This dogma film leaves you with a divided mind. On the first hand, it is a remarkable, tragic love story with brilliant actors, on the other hand the whole film is made that non-spectacular, realistic there's no space left to dream about. This is a story out of the normal, misery life, and the alarming thing about it is that this could really have happened to one of your friends.

This is the saddest yet moving film i've seen in a very long time.

The fifth entry in the Dogme 95 movement - and the first not to come from Denmark - is about a relationship between a French woman and a refugee from the former Yugoslavia. Jean-Marc Barr's "Lovers" isn't the most impressive movie, although I guess that it gives a good look at the status of immigrants in France. If nothing else, the movie has good acting, directing and cinematography. Élodie Bouchez and Sergej Trifunovic do a good job with their roles.

Since Gaga is short for Dragan, what do the Serbs and/or Croats think of Lady Gaga's name? On that subject, Gaaga sounds like the Russian name for The Hague, so how did the movie translate Dragan's nickname in Russian?

I just watched this film on tape from a recent Channel 4 broadcast in the UK. I guess it's the ideal French film, as it has all the right ingredients -- relationships, cigarettes, dingy apartments, garish apartments -- and it's mainly in English!

However, I felt like speeding it up all the way through. I could go make a cup of tea and nothing would have happened while I was gone.

It was redeemed by bright, clear photography of Paris, and some lovely close-ups of the delicious Elodie Bouchez. I only give it 5, I'm afraid. Pleasant enough, but the Gaga character really irritated me and it was soooo sloooow.

The new dogma film seems to be different. Few people just stood up and went, because they thought the love- story of a Czech artist and a French bookstore- accountant would not be enough to fill two hours. But in fact it is. The movie starts of as a fairy- tale and ends with (because of) bureaucratic boundaries. The rest is eternity. Dragan has to leave the country. A modern Romeo and Juliet interpretation. Love is strong and cannot be broken by any earthly means. This film is very honest. And the female protagonist is brilliant. Greetings to Hollywood! That's how an actress should be!