La répétition

A film with an unaffected, to-the-point direction, a sensitive, penetrating story and first-rate interpretations from actresses who I, for one,would care not to see weeping, statuette-in-hand,thanking the Academy, the Nation, their great-grandmothers and uncle Oscar. "La repetition", along with "La pianiste" and "Irreversible" (all three -by coincidence?- french-speaking), was an oasis in a series of routine films, which I saw recently. Those of you who have had enough of visual effects and the garrulity of films which have actually nothing to say may as well turn to films like "La repetition", which succeeds in making a point even when it remains silent. I am now looking for director Corsini's other films, and I am only too curious to find out how some other director, who will also reflect upon the subject of a woman's love for another woman, will deal with it.

A moody bisexual actress and a suicidal lesbian dentist walk into a bar...no, unfortunately this is not a comedy. The two women, who have been friends since childhood, break up for reasons that are unclear. Then they get back together. Then they break up for reasons that are unclear. Then they get back together. La Rinse. La Repeat. This may well be the most mind-numbingly boring film ever to come out of France. Beart plays a stage actress who has no acting talent and who apparently acts in some of the worst plays ever written. At one point she develops a belly ache, but sadly no alien pops out of her stomach to breathe some life into this plot less snooze-fest.

Saw the film at the Festival du film français in Seoul. Although the film is slow at the start, it gives the audience a pretty good background of friendship (or relationship) of the characters, Natalie and Louise on which the film is based on. Natalie is an accomplished theatre actress and Louise tries to achieve her dream through Natalie's career... The 2 actresses (Béart et Brussières)did an excellent job portraying very different characters. The screenplay wasn't as original as I've expected yet the acting really makes up this disadvantage. A very enjoyable drama.

The story draws a lot from movies such as Single White Female and "Harry un ami qui vous veut du bien", except that none of the drama that these two movies contain is present : no murder or madness here, everything is strictly psychological. When ending credits starts rolling, this gives the impression that the movie has been really pointless. Acting is very good though.

How not to think of Herbert Ross's "the turning point" where Ann Bancroft fulfilled her ambitions when her friend Shirley McLaine became a housewife?Okay,the French movie has the lesbian side but even that has become so natural now (remember Claude Chabrol's "les biches" ,1967).But whereas Herbert Ross's story was interesting and entertaining,Catherine Corsini's work is stodgy ,pretentious,cold and so intellectual it's sometimes unbearable .It makes me think of the worst hour of the nouvelle vague.Sure Emmanuelle Beart is a beautiful actress,but elsewhere .Pick up Claude Chabrol's "l'enfer" or FRançois Ozon's "8 femmes "instead.Or De Palma's "Mission :Impossible" for those whose tastes run that way.