Simple comme Sylvain

"Sophia" (Magalie Lépine Blondeau) is contentedly married to "Xavier" (Francis-William Rhéaume) - though they sleep in separate rooms, and is quite nervous about meeting the renovator of their newly acquired waterside chalet. Those nerves seem wholly justified when her arrival introduces her to the lively "Sylvain" (Pierre-Yves Cardinal) who tells her that the place is in riddled with carpenter beetles and is in need of tons of expensive modernisation! She's understandably upset and her tears have quite an effect on the man. Soon they are having a beer and, well you can guess the rest... It isn't just an one night stand, though - they can't stop thinking about each other and this doesn't bode well for her marriage. Their friendship, though loving, now throws up some difficulties. She's from a wealthy family and he's a man who works with his hands. Her family - especially her rather obnoxious brother "Olivier" (Guillaume Laurin) rather look down on the man but his mother "Guylaine" (Linda Sorgini) who has a penchant for rather ropey vin rosé and his family do take to her more readily. Can the two manage to make their own affections prevail against an accumulating series of challenges? There's an engaging chemistry between the two as we see their romance build, falter, thrive - is it real love or just an infatuation with both seeking that which they can never have? I'll be honest, the ending rather crept up on me - it wasn't what I wanted and certainly not what I expected, but it's effective nonetheless as auteur Monia Chokri throws down a bit of a gauntlet to impulse, lust and both a psychological and visceral sense of longing. Do we seek love, and would we know it if we found it or does it seek us so it can plays games with us? The story can seem a little contrived at times and it does play to stereotype now and again too, but it's still quite an impassioned watch with two solid efforts at the helm.

Wow. I enjoyed every second of the movie. Gorgeous cinematography, amazing acting & chemistry, original, touching, funny, beautiful.

Since I'm originally from Montreal (Quebec), I deeply felt a connection with the way the movie was approached. It felt so familiar to me and every character was someone I know in my daily life. I was so connected to the story and the atmosphere.

The subjects of the movie like social classes and feminine sexuality are also rarely shown in a movie the way it was shown in this. It was not pretentious at all, it was just meant to exist on the big screen. The shots were so original and creative....

I am also shocked to learn that this movie is not the one representing the Canada at the Oscars 2024.....shocking!

The last time I was mindblown with a French Canadian movie was when Mommy by Xavier Dolan came out.

I highly recommend!

No expectations there, what so ever. Went without knowing a thing about that movie, except the fact it's a Rom-Com. Well, it is one of those sophisticated and over the top romantic comedies, that want to challenge the genre, but when you look at it in retrospective, you realize you've seen the same...once again.

The two main characters are falling in a mad ridiculous love story a little bit after an exposition that shows the audience its main character Sophia, which is married to Xavier for about a decade and they seem to be bored out of their asses from marriage life. At an evening with friends, they are talking about the essence of life and it all get down hill from there.

Once Sophia meets Sylvain she realizes that she needs it - this mad and uncontrolled love, to spice up her boring life. She finds excuses within the words of famous philosophers and tells all her friends and mother, about the new thrill in her life. We all know where it is going to go on the next stages and we all know exactly that there isn't love that lasts forever with the same fire like the one in the beginning.

The Class differences and the gaps from each and every direction will bury the naïve thought of careless and endless pure beginning-love and the movie, with all its strong points, like the way it tells the story, the cinematography, the crazy chemistry between both actors on the leading roles, still remains banal and even quite boring and is stretched for at least thirty minutes too much.

The musical score is reminding something from the sixties or seventies and I took a look at my phone, to see how much time is left too many times - it is the final stamp for something that won't cross the bar. It is built well, directed great and acted good, but seems like gluing from a lot of other familiar movies with no original statement to provide to the world, except that it is from Canada.

Loved that film! An authentic journey into Quebec culture.

Acting is great, pictures are magnificent, but the thing that got me hooked was the amount of great moments of discomfort and chaos. Made me uncomfortable but in a way I enjoyed.

*** Dont believe the bad reviews***

First, it is not a romantic comedy. While comedy is present, it is pretty dark and I would describe it more as a drama, as well as a love dilemma.

Also, I saw reviews saying it is very much based on stereotypes. While a part of that might be true, you have to remember it's still a movie so it has to be a bit polarizing. But, as quebecois that lived both in Montreal and the suburbs/coutryside, I could relate to every situation in the film and I have to say, it was very accurate.

Loved the ending too.

9/10.

There's a lot of good things in Simple comme Sylvain. The chemestry between the two main actors is awesome and the tension is incredible in the first act. Christine Beaulieu is also fantastic in a perfect anticasting. Bonus points for Still Loving You being so well integrated. Sadly the direction and photography just annoyed me too much and make me loose immersion. There's a point in the film where all shots are claustrophobic, use a object to hide parts of the characters, are digitally cropped and loosw resolution or leverages a veil. There's also that annoying fast zoom that just takes me out of it. Sad because other than that it was a great movie.