Je vous aime

Now I think that, perhaps, "Alice" (Catherine Deneuve) was taking a chance when she hit on the idea of inviting the loves of her life to a dinner on New Year's Eve. What's clear from the outset is that this eclectic gathering is going to stimulate an whole load of emotions and memories - and that's where auteur Claude Berri proceeds to take us for the next ninety minutes or so. These four men could hardly be more different and though that might have looked good on the page it doesn't work quite so well on screen. Serge Gainsbourg's "Simon" is a singer, Gérard Depardieu a typically temperamental musician, Alain Souchon's "Claude" is maybe the most benign of the four before, finally, there's Jean-Louis Trintignant as the patient and more reserved "Lucien". The thrust of the story does rather run counter to tradition in that it's actually her who gets fed up with them. She is beautiful, witty but easily bored. Just as she is initially attracted to the diversities amongst her lovers, she quickly tires of them and being who she is, "Alice" never has to wait long for another to fall in love with her. It's not that she is flighty, or even fickle, it's that she just can't find enduring satisfaction. She can't commit to love - and as the dinner proceeds we are are taken on numerous flashbacks illustrating the ups and downs of these relationship, but she wants to commit to friendship. That's not so easy for the frustrated and frequently quite angry men! The premiss is interesting and Deneuve is on solid form as she delivers an increasingly measured characterisation amidst the vacillating, tantrums, and genuine moments of affection - especially with her growing children who seem to have inherited their mother's trait for taking a rather selfish attitude to life. Sadly, though, it is all a bit messy. There's a great deal of dialogue and we don't really focus enough on any of the relationships - nor those with her kids - to get much depth from the narrative. Maybe four men and a lifetime was just too ambitious to cram into this drama? The casting does work though, there's loads of chemistry and it's worth a watch. Just not quite the sum of it's parts.

This movie is interesting in that it explores the life of a woman who seems incapable of sustaining a relationship. Catherine Deneuve is this screwed up lady and bounces from one relationship to another. In the process, kids are also affected but the film seems to pretty much ignore the impact of this woman on others and instead focus on her. Well, I found her to be pretty selfish and shallow, so for me, it wasn't an exactly satisfying viewing experience. I would have MUCH preferred if the film showed more of the impact on the kids--especially years later when they, too, have a long series of shallow relationships. Others may find it more compelling. Considering, though, that the movie has a strong cast, I am actually surprised I still didn't enjoy it a little more--even if the material isn't exactly what I like.

I have only seen this film about three times and that was years ago but somehow it has stayed with me. The plot is inconsequential; the synopsis tells you most of it, the film just dots the Is and crosses the Ts, but it is copperplate not shorthand. Almost everyone concerned with it had great artistic and commercial success after making it, the director, for instance, Claude Berri, who also wrote it, went on to do Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources; it has therefore been overshadowed in all the careers it helped to shape.

The acting, locations, cinematography and editing by Etienne Becker and Arlette Langmann respectively, are a delight to behold and the film matches it's star in beauty, intelligence and style; I am surprised in many ways that it is not more appreciated than it is. There is a winter scene of them arriving at her home in the country for the New Year's Dinner at the crux of the story that makes me want to sell up and move there, and I don't like snowy winters!

The casting is perfect for a story of a woman who has had her share of interesting lovers - Catherine Deneuve and Gerald Depardieu coming into their prime, Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Christian Marquand already at home there. The reason for the number of lovers is Alice's elegant inability to cope with the boredom of long term relationships and her sophisticated ability to handle the break-ups and, of course, the fact that her beauty and personality will always attract someone new while the discarded ones hang on as friends.

Part of the interest is to see the traditional male attitude embodied in such indisputable femininity. This is no ladette copying the men, or a strident feminist getting her own back on the offending sex. She simply lives her life on her own terms without rancour or regret.

This film should be more widely seen, it is sad that even in France it is only available on video, not DVD and does not seem to be available elsewhere at all.