Genèse

Beautifully composed coming of age multiple story. Vivid, fresh look on teenagers seeking identity, meaning, inspiration and fulfillment. Sensitive, melancholic, truly perceptive and poetic. The unexpected reactions of first love and contagious music. Undoubtedly one of the best films of 2019.

Perhaps the folks who don't get it have had the fortune of never experiencing broken heartedness before. If so, their opinion matters not because they are the lucky few who have somehow avoided suffering and therefore personal growth. For the rest of us, those who have had our hearts broken, this film is a monument. Discovering betrayal, and allowing that to motivate poor decision-making which leads to further betrayal. Discovering years of friendship can disappear in a single gay moment, but having the courage to stand firm rather than hide or self-harm. And the touching innocence and rapturous joy of required love, young love, first love--that section ought to have reverberated with the fortunate few, had they kept watching.

It's a film about love and heartbreak. Is the pacing perfect? No. Is the music perfect? No. But the film is solid and the performances excellent.

Way too many long shots that provided nothing. If you do end up watching this movie, fast forward through those, it'll make it a little more tolerable.

This is one of the best films I've seen - and I've seen many acclaimed movies, art and commercial.

PREDICTION: I bet Timothee Chalamet ends up working with the director Philippe Lesage. I think he'd appreciate Lesage's depth and intelligent, compassionate understanding of human beings - and they both have a French background.

The film is unusually realistic, and sensitive in every meaning of the word: Lesage has clearly observed and reflected on human nature to the point of deep sympathy, which he expresses on film with subtlety, delicacy and brutality. I loved it.

It's not just about first loves - it's about the human condition.

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I see some have given it bad reviews: I can only assume these people lack the depth and life experience to appreciate the psychological and emotional material it explores. Maybe in a few years they should watch it again, and pay CLOSER ATTENTION! (It's a small-scale, slow(ISH)-burn psychological-emotional movie, not a racy blockbuster! A small gem, to be turned over slowly in the hand.)

I didn't find it boring a minute - the only scene I thought could have been cut was the second club dancing scene. (Though perhaps WHEN I watch it all again, I'll understand why it's there.)

Some complained about the last section. Two responses:

* Yes, it's unusual and like a small movie in itself. It's not what's normally done. That's INNOVATION!

* It does fit with the rest of the movie if you grok it a little. If it was at the start, you could see this even more: it's a COUNTERPOINT showing how innocent love CAN be (especially at an earlier age), compared to how tumultuous it can be (especially later in life). In its place at the end of the movie, you could see it as a kind of 'saving grace' that gives some hope, reminding us how pure affection and fascination can be. Or if you're of a darker mind: you see the sadness that may lay in wait for Felix and Beatrice. It's almost like the cycle of life: '...and so it all starts over again'.

Sidebar: I've been to similar gatherings and it was SO good at evoking the warm, intimate, relaxed atmosphere of such gatherings. (Unless of course you're a cynic who's mind and heart is incapable of enjoying 'all that' - in which case even such gatherings would leave you cold and seeing hidden motivations everywhere...yep, the ravenous Consuming Mind searching for its prey...)

~*~

Did any of you film buffs notice the probable homage to Zéro de conduite?

(I appreciated this film so much and was so shocked at the bad reviews, that I joined IMDB just to review it!)

For me, this was a tough film to rate. On the one hand I felt it exceptionally portrayed some of the exuberance of youth and first loves. Yet, the movie also was difficult to watch, at times, as it starkly illustrated the devastating pain and sadness that can accompany coming-of-age. as well.

Maybe it's me but I had difficulty discerning which character was which, as the film often appeared disjointed. So bottom line: some good positives here, like the performance of Noee Abita, but on the whole the movie, written and directed by Philippe Lesage, could only be given a fair rating for entertainment value, as I see it.