Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

This movie succeeds in presenting believable characters through life-like dialogs and superior acting. Despite its heavy emotional load, it never degrades into a tear-jerker. Perhaps it makes a difference whether you are a parent yourself as a viewer, I could not tell, but after returning home, I did feel like giving the kids a loving cuddle. This movie will linger for a while in my mind. It seems to me that Philippe Claudel is not just a very observing novelist, but also a good director, capable of a lot of empathy with the human condition. Anyone looking for light entertainment should stay out of the movie theater where this movie is playing, but if you are interested in a subtle emphatic presentation of characters, you should not miss this.

I found that this film stayed with me for a few days after I'd seen it. The film shows some strange behaviours which are resolved as the story unfolds (e.g., the initial attitude of the brother-in-law which seems both heartless towards his sister-in-law and insensitive towards his wife). The portrayal of the relationship of the sisters is well done while the development of the relationship between Scott-Thomas and Greville is beautifully drawn - in a way that only French directors manage; the smallest gestures having deep meaning. I thought the direction of the older child was nothing short of outstanding - that is how articulate 7 to 8 year old children behave. I think that this is a life-affirming film despite the obvious losses. There is both a literal and symbolic birth.

While I've never been such a Philistine as to decline to see a film because it is in an unknown language and I'd have to read the subtitles, there is usually a sense of emotional distance when you have to read the words yourself. In the case of 'I've Loved You So Long', I felt no such distance. Indeed, this is the first time I've cried in a movie since... I don't know when. Sure, I am a callous bastard, but I often find myself moved by a film, only, rarely do I find myself as moved as I was by this one.

'I've Loved You So Long' focuses on the story of Juliette Fontaine coming from prison to live with her sister, who was a young adolescent when she was incarcerated. The tensions of living with an extended family are exacerbated by Juliette's personality, which it is accepted is altered by her time in gaol. Philippe Claudel's story is beautifully structured to release just as much information as is necessary to keep you interested, while retaining just enough mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I have never seen a French film that I haven't liked, but I have also never seen a French film of this calibre. It is an outstanding piece of storytelling, full of pathos and charm.

Looking at Kristen Scott Thomas I thought of Julie Christie, Ingrid Bergman, Helen Mirren, Liv Ullman and a number of other actresses that managed to be transparent on the screen. Transparent in the best sense of the word, meaning we could actually see the invisible. Two sisters, a husband, two adopted Asian girls and a past, a recent past an overwhelming past painted black but with a white coat of compassion. Fame novelist turned film director Philip Claudel's debut is surprising to say the least.His assured hand and sensibility makes me want to see his next opus with a certain amount of trepidation. Scott Thomas's performance is among the very best I've seen all year.

This is one of those films that, the less you know about it in advance, the more you are likely to appreciate it - which makes reviewing it a little problematic. All you really need to know is that it's French and excellent. But you might like to know that it's a wonderful vehicle for Kristin Scott Thomas, the British actress married to a Frenchman, who plays Juliette, an Anglo-French woman with some dark and painful secrets which only slowly unfold as the narrative takes its traumatic course. The movie opens and closes with close-ups of her haunted face and, in between, she is rarely off the screen in a marvellously nuanced performance, well supported by Elsa Zylberstein who plays her younger sister Léa. Written and directed by Philippe Claudel, this is French movie-making at its best.