For Lovers Only

While I had seen a few of the Polish Brothers other moves, namely 'Twin Falls Idaho' and 'Northfork' I freely admit I may not have been aware of 'For Lovers Only' if I didn't follow Stana Katic on Twitter. We all know what a great job Stana has been doing in the role of Kate Beckett in Castle for the past 3 seasons so any other project that she is involved with deserves a peek, right? Are you tired/bored with the usual Hollywood CGI laden, big bang, beat 'em up fare? Like me, do you need to be emotionally invested in a movie? If the answer is "yes" then 'For Lovers Only' is definitely the movie for you.

It quite simply couldn't be any further from your 'conventional movie' and trust me it doesn't suffer for it in the slightest. What Mark Polish has written is an honest and heartfelt depiction of being in love - not just the joys but also the sorrows.

'For Lovers Only' was conceived under the radar, with zero budget and zero marketing. The movie was shot with a tiny crew on the fly while travelling throughout France over a short period of time. There are no sets, no artificial lighting just amazing scenery, architecture and touching performances.

The director, Michael Polish has done a magnificent job in capturing the tone of this movie. Filmed in black and white with a digital SLR camera he has managed to create the most romantic and almost ethereal feeling – it looks timeless. I don't know how he's done it but Michael has managed to make Stana look even more stunning! When we first met former lovers Yves (Mark Polish) and Sofia (Stana Katic) they seem to be only half a person, barely functioning. When they bump into each other again in Paris after 8 years apart it is palpable. It's almost like they've been hit by a truck, no words are necessary as it's written all over their faces. We all know Stana can say more with her eyes than most actresses can with a couple of pages of dialogue. From that moment on you just know that there is more to their story and they are going to reconnect – it's inevitable.

As they leave Paris on their journey the ease with which Yves and Sofia fall back into the role of lovers or more importantly being in love is in stark contrast to the stilted and awkward phone conversations they have with their respective spouses. These two seem to be each others perfect, each others everything that it's hard to imagine why they broke up in the first place – it's never explained either.

If viewers are expecting what follows to be a 'sexcapade' throughout France then they are going to be disappointed. Yes, there is a sex scene but it's not gratuitous or explicit – this is a movie for grown ups after all. The most intimate moments in the movie are when Yves and Sofia are simply in each others personal space, totally comfortable with one another, sharing their feelings and thoughts. If the objective was to have the viewer almost feel like a voyeur then mission accomplished in spades.

I don't want to dissect the movie scene by scene, it is better for the viewer to simply go on the journey with the lovers and let their story unfold before your eyes. You'll laugh, you'll cry but most of all you'll feel.

The haunting score by Kubilay Uner fits each scene perfectly and only serves to heighten the experience.

The choices of songs by artists such as Arcade Fire, Jeff Healey, John Lennon, A Girl Named Eddy and Serge Gainsbourg to name but a few are inspired. One could be forgiven for thinking that they had been especially written for the movie as they sit so comfortably within it.

All in all 'For Lovers Only' is a treat for the heart and the soul. You will get a little something different out of it with each viewing. I first saw this movie just over a fortnight ago and it's still rattling around in my head. How many movies can we say that about?

Mark and Michael Polish set out to make a timeless, intimate film about being in love and wound up making what appears to be on its way to an indie classic.

The story is deceptively simple - a photographer and a journalist meet by chance again in Paris, eight years after splitting up. Shot in black and white with a small hand-held SLR camera, the film both recalls the verite style of the French New Wave, while simultaneously reminding us of the technological now of mobile phones and iPods. The result is something both retrospective and timeless; a tiny, heartfelt story in which yesterday is never quite understood and tomorrow may never come, but love lives on regardless.

Michael Polish's cinematographic style has always been visually epic (Northfork), while Mark Polish's writing has always done gentle intimacy best (Twin Falls Idaho). Here, their strengths combine to create one of their best outings yet; the splendid landscapes of France backdrop for an intimacy possible only with a tiny camera and a crew of two. The brothers are aided by the luminous and perfectly retro-looking Stana Katic -- a modern cross between Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Lauren -- in an honest, beautifully understated performance which complements Mark Polish's habitually low-key style exceptionally well. Joyous and tender and heartbreaking, this is the kind of film that sticks with you long after it's done. Really a must-see, whatever you have to do to find it.

Ahh...love. So what happens when the "one that got away" is right there in front of you and your life, now, is far away? Do you turn and walk away or do you dive in again, head first and follow far past the distance you can swim? What a beautiful film. What a beautiful fantasy. What a sweet, sad situation that so many of us can relate to. Brava for taking us along on this lush and dreamy affair. It brought back memories of long ago and far away and left me playing the "what if" game for the rest of the weekend. The actors were perfect, the dialogue spot on, the scenery fabulous and the choice of filming in black and white leaves so much more room for our imagination to stretch the story over any period of time. Watch it alone first, and if you are brave, watch it with someone else, if you are prepared to talk about periods of your life that you haven't decided to share yet.

The rawness played by Stana and Mark is astounding. Each glance, kiss and vocal tone is filled with emotion. You actually go on the journey with the characters and you become them. You become embroiled in this French love tryst before you realise and you become swept along in the beauty of the production. Knowing that the movie was shot so simply enhances your experience as a viewer. It feels so intimate and honest. It feels so right being shot in black and white too. The photography is just stunning, each frame is almost a work of art in itself. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It's a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. Absolutely love.

Have you ever strolled with your girlfriend down the street in the perfect mutual moment and wished somebody photographed the both of you at the right angle and turned it into a postcard? That's what this film feels like from beginning to end.

For Lovers Only is a completely intoxicating assault on the senses. They completely capture the intimacy of human touch; someone stroking your hair, nibbling your ear, the saliva strings between kisses, stroking their fingers across your back while clamping their legs around you in a deep embrace. It's every picture-perfect chocolaty moment that any hopeless romantic would love to experience.

Stana Katic looks divine; her beauty makes me want to cry. Suffice to say, she gives a good performance. Mark Polish is fine but his performance is hidden beneath his sunglasses. Together they both make a believable couple and most importantly create the mutual overwhelming rush of passion. Also noteworthy is the film's sensuous soundtrack, of which I listened through the film's closing credits.

Romantic as it is, the Polish brothers also present an insightful examination of love. Relationships are spatial and temporal, and we are confined by how close we are and how much time we have. It's always in moments of ecstasy where time zips by, you begin counting the seconds before the moment is gone. For Lovers Only incorporates this into its film language, most notably in its montage sequences.

Here we see how love amplifies everything up to eleven, how everything becomes life and death (which justifies the dreamy black and white cinematography). And how there is only one person for you in the entire world, right before you wake up and snap out of it. Through the sweet and the sour, we realize Sofia and Yves are intertwined in this moment of passion because of their past relationship and by the romantic excitement of their chance encounter. It's suddenly romantic when they're reminded how they are so used to each other. But does familiarity make a lasting relationship? That becomes the film's central question, but they leave it up for the audience to answer themselves.

In the end, unlike the typical Hollywood romance, this film chooses the emotional journey of love over the final result of whether love is obtained. For Lovers Only is a bittersweet dark chocolate of a film and I recommend every romantic couple have a 89-minute affair with it.

For more reviews, please visit my film blog at http://hkauteur.wordpress.com/