Les passagers de la nuit

"Les Passagers de la Nuit", being Mikhaël Hers' fourth feature, premiered in the prestigious competition of the Berlin International Film Festival.

The main point of the movie lies in Éric Rohmer's "Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune" referenced in the theater, that the free-spirited characters should not be criticized, but only to be observed, or possibly emphathised. Not only Hers praises the cinema through their character's words, he also tributes French cinema with the other references of Jacques Rivette's Le Pont du Nord (1981) and Claire Denis's Jacques Rivette le Veilleur (1990). The characters are unexpectedly mesmerized when they accidentally find themselves in a theater showing Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune instead of what they had planned to see.

The movie does not have any political concern having shown François Mitterrand's election as the French President in 1981 or by the innocent political actions of Judith (the daughter of the house), rather it displays the optimist vibe of the French left-wing society at the time. But wait, what makes the director choice shifting its films between 8mm, 16mm and 35mm, using of the filters and including some footage back then? A simple yearning or his individual memories and experiences? Editing these grainy images together with the digital ones drifts the audience between an alienation effect or the overpraise of nostalgia.

The biggest hit that keeps the movie worth seeing is the acting skills of the main characters. While the characters emotionally experience the existential pains of their own little worlds, they carefully avoid big words and it's us the audiance left with the choice to feel sympathy for them in this unpretentious melodrama. We very often see Elizabeth stuck in the framed big windows, in the radio building or in her home in the suburb of Paris. Also Talulah, who choose to live only in the present, has already attracted the audience with her free spirit.

Yet we are left with only the anti-heroes who are the passengers of the nights in Paris in the end. Les Passagers de la Nuit is a production that cannot reach the level of the films it's refering to and cannot claim any further than being a modest or weak melodrama.

Easy to write i love it.

First, for cast. Second, for honest , fair crafted story. For smart manner to explore sensitive themes and for the seductive connection between characters.

For books , romances, for late night radio show, for Charlotte Gainsbourgh and for Emmanuelle Beart ( one of my favorit French actresses ) . And, sure, for beautiful work of Quito Rayon Richter.

A film about family and a mother looking to help her children and not only, to use an opportunity and to be , again , happy.

In short, a precious film for the state who creates , scene by scene , to viewer. In fact, it is the only essential virtue who real matters in this case.

This beautiful french piece by a great director is definitely one of the better films of the year.

It showcases a beautiful, in some ways humorous, yet equally tragic and heartfelt, script. The actors all do an incredible job, and the beautiful writing that accompines them only helps strengthen it.

The cinematography, cutting and editing is splendid, and done in a very characteristic style.

Overall, a masterful film in true french fashion that is sure to appease any lovers of cinema. Very beautifully put together in every sense of the word, in terms of both writing, artistical and technical terms.

A very atmospheric movie about a family living in Paris in nineteen eighties whose members are going through tough times.

The mother looks insecure and fragile at first glance but however hard it is she stays 100% loyal to her values even managing to give when she is supposed to be in the phase of take.

This one shows that the true acts of kindness pay off and you sometimes need to cry your heart out but at the same time persevere and you never know: probably there's someone who can actually SEE you and love your open heart, which makes it even stronger and bigger.

Amazing work of Charlotte Gainsbourg. Very warm and inspiring!

At least three very good acting performances in a story that says too little. We've got Charlotte Gainsbourg in a very mature and nuanced performance as Elisabeth Davis a single mom with two teenage kids trying to survive a painful separation and finding an unexpected support from a radio night broadcast. Where she also finds a lost soul called Talulah, played superbly by Noee Abita. She offers Talulah a place in her apartment. What we get afterward is the story of the Davis family and their interaction with Talulah over a few years this could very easily be a Hollywood movie with all the expected preachiness and morals we often get there - it doesn't go there and for that fact I'm grateful. But it doesn't go anywhere else. We simply get to see Elisabeth, her two kids (mainly Quito Rayon Richter as her son Mathias - showing a lot of promise) and Talulah who pops in and out of their lives until she disappears.

It looks like the director Mikhael Hers and his script writers had a story but didn't have a point to make. This would be a nice pilot for a TV drama series but as a stand alone movie - it doesn't stand alone and it's a shame because, as I said already we do get at least three very good acting performances that deserved better.