L'Amour fou

I saw this back when it was released in Paris. In those days I had only begun to watch films seriously so I didn't have much experience concerning when to leave or when I was allowed to get bored. I stayed through the whole thing - all three hours plus - and came out genuinely perplexed. It was a talkathon, no question about that, and at times it seemed to me that the actors were just making things up as they went along, just treading dramatic water as it were. Although not much of anything happened or was even said, the characters discussed the nothingness to the point of madness, I thought. It seemed at the time to be a huge joke on the audience. The director did in fact make a commercially viable film years late with "Celine et Julie...", still quite long - to the point of undermining itself - but not as obnoxiously obsessed with its "meaning" or "significance". There are in fact many good French films out there that aren't endurance contests as I subsequently found out.

Curtis Stotlar

16mm, 35mm, black and white, handheld camera, scant music, seemingly low budget, aloof characters with odd behaviors or habits: it's been awhile since I last watched an independent movie that truly looked and felt like an independent film, and moreover, truly was one. (Darren Aronofsky's 'Pi' comes to mind, and Kevin Smith's 'Clerks.') Though similar in length this is otherwise a far cry from the finessed mastery of 'La belle noiseuse,' to date my personal favorite of those films I've seen of Jacques Rivette; understated and very gradual as the progression of the narrative is I'm reminded of the films of Chantal Akerman, though this is a tad more meandering instead of simply deliberate (to the point that the length feels about as self-indulgent as it does meaningful).

Though possibly drawn out a smidgen more than is fruitful, the narrative core is outstanding. Slowly but surely the picture marks the painful disintegration of Claire and Sebastien's marriage, and more than that, husband and wife are both falling apart in their separate ways. Sebastien becomes increasingly cruel and indifferent, and moreover unfocused as rehearsals for his play flounder and go nowhere; Claire is plainly experiencing a mental breakdown, as much for the mere fact of the state of the relationship as for Sebastien's cold behavior. That both come full circle, and unite in a mutual sort of delirium before it all ends, makes the whole all the more delicious. I don't think the ebb and flow of the central relationship is depicted in a way that feels entirely natural, cohesive, or believable; some stops along the way rather seem to come out of nowhere. The screenplay is also imbalanced in terms of spotlighting Claire or Sebastien, the two of them together, or the rehearsals, and I think the writing of scenes and the narrative could have been tightened. Still, though uneven, overall the story is engrossing and compelling, and ultimately quite satisfying.

Rivette's direction feels weirdly loose, and maybe even scattered. I leave it to those who are more heavily familiar with the man's works to decide where his approach here fits within his oeuvre, though it's clear that it's intentional; regardless, it feels appropriate for the tone and style of the picture. So it is, too, with the acting, primarily that of chief stars Bulle Ogier and Jean-Pierre Kalfon: Claire and Sebastien are both a mess, and I'd rather be worried if the players DIDN'T reflect those troubled states in their performances. While mostly reserved and tempered in keeping with the overarching tack of the feature, Ogier and Kalfon both illustrate tremendous nuance in their portrayals that's deeply gratifying as a viewer; we can't necessarily relate to the characters in and of themselves, but their actors make their emotions real in a way that is highly relatable and sympathetic. Mixed together with the terse scenes and story, imperfect though they may sometimes be, the result is somewhat entrancing. I would even say that my opinion oscillated throughout these four hours, and I was at best unsure of what I might have to say of 'L'amour fou' when all was said and done. However, all the varied pieces do come together quite nicely, and what strength the movie boasts well outweighs the weaker aspects.

It's not flawless, but despite its faults I find it to be much better than not. Would that Rivette and co-writer Marilù Parolini had firmed up the screenplay a bit, yet even at that the tale they've woven is absorbing and enjoyable. The cast are splendid; all those behind the scenes turned in fine work, including not least editor Nicole Lubtchansky and cinematographers Étienne Becker and Alain Levent. At large I very much like this. I don't think it's a masterpiece, nor a revelation, and I can understand how the runtime might be prohibitive for some viewers. It's solid and deserving on its own merits, however, and whether one is specifically a fan of someone involved or just looking for something good to watch, I think 'L'amour fou' is very worthwhile. Maybe just as much to the point, if this was all that I knew of Rivette and his collaborators, it would be enough to impel me to look for more of everyone's films; if that's not a compliment, then I don't know what is.

L'Amour Fou (translates literally to Crazy Love) probably is one of the most harrowing, unique, slightly (no, very much so) deranged, special and brilliantly shot in 16mm/35mm black and white relationship dramas of its or any era that has slivers of surrealism and dream-like beats but is largely drenched in a realistic approach to the cinematography and staging and that makes it all the more affecting.... And at the same time it is hard not to think this really could have been a 3 hour or even 3 1/2 hour or so film instead of 4 and a 1/2. To put it another way, sometimes when you're full from a meal and your friend keeps making you eat, you're going to barely be able to keep your belt from breaking off your body in a clump, if you take my meaning.

And I get it. I really, really do, please dont @ me; I comprehend that the length is a major part of the point, that we need to see the grind day by night by day how this relationship deteriorates so completely that when they somehow are happy again in the latter part it isnt any kind of healthy joy, on the contrary it is the kind of apocalyptic-level of being on Cloud Nine that feels like being on a drug (and the come-down will be that much more emotionally fraught).

Maybe there weren't the words for it at the time too, but the nature of the characters, who are mood swinging to the sky and crashing to the ground again, speaks to what one might describe as BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) or even like a chronicle of Bi-Polar disorder through and through and it's the fact that it's just... there and that honesty makes it compelling (one scene has Sebastien's assistant comment he should talk to someone; insert 'Men will direct agonizing Greek tragedy rather than go to Therapy' joke here).

So, Rivette puts the audience through the many productive and awkward and emotionally violent and turbulent and sorrowful and joyful days and nights where we gotta be with this couple and see the repitition and staging this play with these actors (some of who, I'm glad we are shown, are getting visibly tired and fed up with the moody director), and how that starts to send him into a downward spiral and so on. And there are stretches where this hits your heart and drops your jaw and when they tear apart that one wall it's darkly funny. But my goodness, this is so much cinema - and when I can point to specifics that could be cut (the sub plot with buying/not buying a dog), that's a problem.

Extra kudos has to go to the 2 lead actors, particularly Ogier (a Rivette regular and from Bunuel's Discreet Charm) who digs so deep into her pain to bring out what we see on the screen (or can pretend better than anyone from the 60s in France), who definitely were a main reason for keeping me in my seat until the ending.... even though the male lead Kalfon looks distractingly like a young Steve Martin to the point where I sometimes wondered if he would just go into a rendition of being a dentist and get over with. 8.5/10.

4 hours+ to tell a dull story! Chain smoking french men and women rehearsing for Greek play, and some weak-ass relationship drama on the side. That's it!!! I started fast forwarding after 40 minutes, and I can believe I actually endured that much. A complete waste of time, so don't bother!

Yes, on the face of it, four hours spent in the company of stage actors rehearsing a Racine play might seem excessive. After all, how many changes can Rivette ring on a discontented couple who do all sorts of things to hurt each other? How many times can Claire cheat on Sebastien with that weedy fellow, and how many times can Sebastien flirt with the brunette who's going to replace Claire as Andromaque? Whatever the answer, I have to say I find the whole thing fascinating. The film crew sent in to cover the proceedings seems to comment on everything. At times it has the air of a high school dramatic society offering, at other times it's deadly serious.

The performers do everything expected of them. Bulle Ogier became Rivette's favourite actress; she is stunning. Bright, sullen, depressed, elated--she goes through it all. Kalfon appeared in a later film, L'amour par terre, as a playwright. He's all silky assurance until the confused ending. A wonderful experience, a must for Rivette enthusiasts.