Au plus près du paradis

I just LOVED this movie. Pity I saw it on my (tiny!) TV. I wish I could have seen it in a real theater, on a huge screen. Paris, New York and Deneuve are gorgeous, dialogs and music are fantastic, and the light is beautiful. OK, the story is a little bit patchy, but who cares? You just watch this movie like you read a John Irving novel: you don't care if it's not a masterpiece, you just enjoy it! My biggest problem with this movie was the fact that they decided to dub the second half of the film. Even if Deneuve is dubbing herself quite well, it looks and sounds strange... Maybe Hurt's French wasn't good enough? For the rest, I found that all these "satellites" that evolve around Deneuve are just great: her doctor/lover who comes to check on her heart, her lesbian daughter who seems more mature than her own mother, her colleague who keeps crying because her lover left her (but who can't help noticing Fanette's beautiful shoes), her alcoholic brother whom she doesn't judge. And all these bits and pieces from Leo McCarey's 'An Affair to Remember'... The beauty of the film comes from this amazing paradox: it's a star who plays this 'weak' and lonely woman who is herself fascinated by movie stars. A beautiful present to a beautiful actress.

This will suit only some tastes: a dreamy, loosely plotted film about a (presumably divorced) Parisienne (Deneuve) grown very romantic in middle age - idealizing a man she spurned forty years before.

This viewer believes that the man has not gotten in touch with her again -that her longing imagination (spurred by repeated viewing of An Affair To Remember) has so taken over that she only fantasizes that he has left her (threw on the ground to a pursuing Deneuve an envelope containing) a note to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building on a particular day and time. The movie invites other viewers to instead believe that the man is simply cryptic and elusive, and has made such an appointment.

Fortunately for Deneuve's longing, she must go to New York for work (she is writing a book about a painter and must have three paintings currently in New York photographed for the book). While there, the photographer (Hurt playing a very goofy character) falls for her.

So, will she step into reality by taking up with Hurt who offers her love - or proceed further into the fantasy world by making her appointment at the Empire State Building? And if the latter, what will ensue? There are many inconsistencies in Deneuve's character - e.g., she has no sentiment about anything in her past - has just moved from her old home, has no desire to keep close relations with her daughter (and cleaned out her room), seldom attends reunions of the class where she knew the idealized Philippe - yet she aches with every couple she sees kiss and imagines Philippe everywhere.

Only reason to see this is for Deneuve -I'd never seen her play a character who can be rattled, silly, spontaneous - and she's wonderful. Hurt's character is however an idiot whom no woman would fall for - let alone both Paulina Porizkova (playing an art owner's wife involved with Hurt before her marriage) and Catherine Deneuve.

Finally, a warning to men: do not try Hurt's move with Deneuve at home. You will be injured.

I really liked this film...the second time I watched it. I recommend a second viewing. Allow yourself just to enjoy it. I'm a film student and I had the good fortune of being assigned Deneuve's later work for my actor study. I watched this picture after seeing several of her well-known "masterworks" such as Indochine, Place Vendome, Ma Saison Preferee, and Les Voleurs. Growing up around film, I had the "Belle de Jour" Deneuve imprinted on my mind. Seeing this film changed that. In truth, this film is rather weak and predictable but it is worth watching just for Deneuve who shows us the other side of the "ice queen". She is quirky, dreamy, and often uncomfortable. Aging beautifully in my opinion, this film allows her to play sides of the human she normally does not touch. Toni Marshall wrote the piece for her and it is truly a homage and a joy to behold. Loved the incorporation of modern art as well. William Hurt seems miscast and slightly off his game, easily attributable to the horrible events of 9/11 that left the whole set distraught. He still manages some great one-liners. Marshall definitely has a clever idea for a film and for many viewers accustomed to foreign cinematic nuances, she will deliver. The DVD has extensive and interesting additional material. It's great to see some Paris, great to see innovative art, and wonderful to see Deneuve adopting a new element.

NEAREST TO HEAVEN a memorable line from the 1957 classic AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER is the springboard for this film...Fanette (Deneuve) is a woman living in regret over the fact she failed to commit to the love of her life during the best times of her life...she's haunted by him on every street corner, corridor, & movie theatre...his image seems to be burnt into her head...now after years of waiting & wondering she finally gets a second chance at love...

The story is uneven & frustrating...music score is sometimes inappropriate to say the least...it's more of a homage to Deneuve than the wonderful Grant/Kerr film...Yes, Deneuve is stunning & yes, the camera seems to caress her every move & expression...but...she comes across as very cold & distant...uncomfortable mostly...its quite believable men in Fanette's life have thrown themselves at her feet & she just shrugs them off....one of them, Matt (Hurt) is a spontaneous photographer who's unexpectedly become her partner in NYC while she's there on business & a long awaited personal appointment...but it seems his character is written in as filler for someone to bounce Deneuve's dialogue off of...

Overall: Even if your a Catherine Deneuve fan as I am, you might want to skip this one...

My wife rented this hoping to see some romance. Idle hope. Not much romance between Hurt and Deneuve. Nice to see that Deneuve can still play an attractive lady though. Hurt is on auto-pilot. There are some fragments from 'An affair to remember' making you wish you were seeing that old movie again instead of this French 'remake'. Definitively not worth the time.