A quietly stunning triumph
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.
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.
- finovotny99
- Jul 14, 2011