Plus que jamais

...which could happen to anyone.

Played by two admirable young actors, and told with great finesse and restraint.

Do we need someone to accompany us in facing inevitable death?

Is it really selfish to choose your own path, alone and thus making others suffer more?

Should we fight to the end for life, knowing that the chances of beating death, of succeeding, are extremely low?

How to live the last days of your life while waiting for death; is this the right time to discover yourself and know yourself, finally...?

To see absolutely..., only when you have the head for that; to meditate and to think on the value of your daily life.

Hélène (Vicki Krieps), a Luxembourger living in France, is disagnosed with a terminal lung condition. With a husband (the late Gaspard Ulliel) whose concern she finds smothering, and friends who are not sure how to react, she turns to the Internet for solace and stumbles across the website of 'Mister' (Bjørn Floberg), who is receiving treatment for intestinal cancer. After a few webchats in which the two establish a rapport, she decides to visit Mister, hoping to achieve, in his remote Norwegian village, greater understanding of what is happening to her.

Given the subject matter, this film could have been laden with histrionics - floods of tears, screaming etc - but thankfully such scenes are kept to a minimum, even though Hélène's emotions are all over the place and some of her speeches veer dispiritingly close to the 'finding myself' variety. Krieps gives a good performance, aided by a script that does not make Hélène someone mired in self-pity; Hélène desires self-exploration rather than feeling sorry for herself. Ulliel, as the husband who, after giving her so much support, feels left out of his wife's new relationship, is as admirably restrained as the script allows. It is hard to judge the performance of Floberg; it could be that as 'Mister' is such a taciturn character the actor was given little with which to work.

The film contains a lengthy sex scene that, with its tender close-ups and following of 'less is more' in terms of skin revealed per shot, is very erotic.

With its small cast and slow, quiet tone, this would not be for everyone. But if you are after a good human-interest drama, 'More than Ever' would be a good choice.

Gaspard Ulliel in all his shine, how sad he is gone.. Enormous talent at his peak, how many more wonderful roles he would give us.

I love movies like this. Adore. French, European drama with feelings, talks, human destinies, realness. The movie is slow yes, but with these two you are immersed in their relationship, dilemmas, how they handle the situation, their love and sadness. These two are very special pair and it works so well. Vicky Krieps is always so special, with subtlety, rawness, calmness in voice, sensitivity, gentleness.. Beautiful Scandinavian scenery.

For me this movie is a breath of fresh air.

You can feel your lungs are full with fresh air just like Helenes in Norwegian fjord.

Plus que Jamais is a slowpaced drama dealing with a fatal disease and what it does to the people around the patient, especially the loved ones.

Vicki Krieps is excellent, it is not hard to understand where Helene is coming from and thats because of Vicki. Yes it's dramatic, but she acts with a lightness that it never gets too heavy.

Her husband , played by the equally wonderful Gaspard Uliel , in one of his last roles, feels left out and has a hard time dealing with being so helpless.

Shot in beautiful Norway the movie is slow yes, but never boring. Excellent acting and story telling.

If that is not enough; for me it was a little confronting to watch deep into Gaspard's eyes again, knowing he passed away earlier this year. Great loss, beautiful and very talented guy.

Intense uncompromising character drama about the individual freedom to determine your own way of dying, enjoying your love and life to the fullest as long as it's possible.

Vickie Krieps plays her difficult main part with great intensity and sensitivity. I have never seen herself acting better than here.

Her partner played with no less vulnerability by the late Gaspar Ulliel. The film makes you really miss one of the best French actors of his generation. Emily Atef directs a beautiful and deep story, breathtaking photography in the Norway sequences. If the end doesn't break your heart, you don't have one.