Julia et Julia

This movie is so great, kind of independent European movie. The plot is mesmerizing, it's like Julia goes back and forth between two real existential dimensions and she has little control about her fate. Kathleen Turner and Gabriel Byrne are amazing in this movie and Sting performs great as well. A high psychological thriller, which leaves us in doubt about what really happening. Highly recommended.

Kathleen Turner is notable; Rotunno's photography is mesmerising; and Jarre's score is pleasing. Even their combined contribution does not lift up the film to any great heights.

It is interesting that Rotunno's work in so many films other than those of Fellini has often not been noticed.

I'm a lifelong suspense/mystery fan, I do not enter this realm ill-prepared.

Consequently, when I write that "Julia and Julia" is a very special film, I do not do so ill-advised. Our friend Alfred Hitchcock would have envied this fascinating, morbid tale of love found, tragically lost, yet found and lost again. And again. Serving as a hyper-psychological "thriller", it is far above simply that. Argueably, there is no strict filmic category for it. The story is of a woman's life after having lost her husband in a car crash on their honeymoon. It's also about a woman who chooses to have an illicit, extramarital affair with a perfect stranger. It's also about...well...you should decide for yourself. Direction and writing are both truly sublime. It is surreal, the viewer is left pondering aghast until the end, indeed way beyond. From a devout Hitchcockian, Julia and Julia is forever one of my all-time favorite movies.

At the heart of the story is Juliet's gliding back and forth between parallel realities and parallel destinies. The script resolves the ending very elegantly, when I'm a bit lost as to which version of life we are in. This is typically a story that inspires me, makes me think. I wonder if the other Juliet experienced things in a similar way on the other side? Or: I should write a novel in which the two characters leave a diary to each other, and help each other this way.

Another thought: Sting plays a very aggressive character. It's very odd today, repulsive, but I don't think the metoo has done away with this male type as an ideal.

The film doesn't delve into anything deep, but maybe that's why it manages to remain inspiring. It leaves room for the imagination.

What makes this film interesting are the very things that some who reviewed it disliked. As it says in the Fun Stuff section, "First movie made on Video master using High Definition Video System (HDVS) at 1225 lines and then printed on 35 mm film format." It may not be that novel today, but remember... this film was released in 1987! I remember watching it. I remember how eerie it was. I didn't know that it was shot in high def; I didn't even know what that was. What struck me about it was how real it seemed. It didn't just have the look of TV. It had the look of a play. Live. In person. I found it disturbing. Perhaps the theme of "sliding between two worlds" and the questions of sanity vs. insanity have also become banal today. It wasn't that these were new themes, even then. But they weren't as outworn as they are today. Hollywood wasn't really into making blockbusters about mental breakdowns. That's a recent phenomenon. At that time, insanity was left to art house directors. Lynch has traditionally done a pretty good job with sanity vs. insanity. What's real? What isn't? That kind of crap.

This film was novel, not because it was blockbuster with the insanity them (it was no blockbuster at all), but because for those who hadn't seen high def, films that questioned sanity... or both... this was something new and unnerving. The performances were great. You can't miss with Turner and Byrne... but Sting was great, too. Much as I hate to say it... he's really an excellent actor. It's always strange seeing him in a film. Isn't he a rock star? There's always that duality. Always that question... "Who am I seeing?" That echoes the "two worlds" insanity of Julia.

It's a grossly underrated film. I think that people don't know how to watch it, if that makes sense. It's held up reasonably well over time. If you haven't already, check it out for yourself and see what you think.