En attendant Bojangles

Ok, the first twenty minutes or so of this movie did not totally grab me but I was happy to sit there and see how it panned out and I'm glad that I did - a wonderfully made and acted movie with, I would admit, a few thin patches but the final 30 or so minutes were riveting. The acting by all the cast was remarkable but in particular Virginie Efira who I hope to see more of (yes, I know that she showed us her all in the nude sequence !). A quirky tragi-comedy enjoyable in every respect. How anyone could be totally negative about this movie is beyond me but of course each to their own.

I think the problem here was that a) the author of the book was involved with the screenplay and b) the director/c0-screenwriter was in awe of the material/author. If ever something needed more distance from the material, this was it. Someone suggested that, unlike the book, they didn't need a narrator. This was the fatal flaw. Without the audience understanding that this was the son's retelling of the family story, his parents just came across os self-involved narcissists. The film was so desperate to capture a charming effervescent mood that everything was leaden. When the story turned dark, it was hard to know how to react. The performances were OK, if rather forced. I wanted to escape the cinema after 20 minutes.

This movie, based on a novel, tells the story of two beautiful people who decided to be the masters of their destiny, the painter of their life, filled with joy, imagination and magic. It talks to all of us by exacerbing questions that we all ask to ourselves: what is the purpose of life if not lived the way we want, if not lived joyfully ? This movie makes me want to live my life fully, by feeling more and thinking less. It depicts the story of a couple who decided to dedicate their life to love, in its purest definition, with all its flaws, but honestly. Dependence and adiction to the loved one is not hidden behind a mask in this couple. This story is so powerful and the actors are brilliant (Romain Duris and Virginie Efira are really amazing, and their child is played by a very talented boy). I don't know how this movie is in English, as I have seen the French original version. But it is definitely worth a try, just let go your assumptions of what life "should be like" before watching it, because the characters don't leave any space for anyone or anything to tell them what they should be. It is a pure beauty. Prepare your tissue box, you'll cry a lot. I genuinely think that there will be a before and a after in my life thanks to this movie. I can't wait to watch it again.

I would say, it grabs you in the moment, you realize the cruel lige, Camille has managed to escape and why she prefers to live in her phantasie room. A very gentle and sensitive desvription of her struggles, which gradually leed to the end.

George love is strong, unselvish, irrational and indisputable .

I don't think that the movie begins in South France, hotel Bel Reves, it is a hint to Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda's life and to Tender is the Night".

There are so many levels and I would suggest not to take the movie as a French "mad extravagance", but let it develop. It will break your heart but it will also open your world.

We start at a swanky party where "Georges" (Romain Duris) is working his way around the guests regaling them with some tales that wouldn't have looked out of place in "Bedtime Story" (1964). Fearing that he's about to be rumbled, he tries for an hasty exit and that is when he encounters "Camille" (Virginia Efira) who is amidst some sort of solo dancing performance that captivates him. Romance blossoms, "Gary" (Solan Machado Graner) is born and the three embark on their lively and frenetic lives together. Up until now, this film is an unremarkable and rather bitty, episodic, comedy that sails very close to the winds of annoyance. Now, though, as the story has advanced a few years, it becomes a far more interesting and poignant tale as it is clear that "Camille" is losing the plot. She is prone to irrational outbursts, to violence and this is worrying her family and her friends. Help is sought and acquired but father and son cannot live without their girl and so concoct a plan to rescue her and abscond to a beautiful villa by the sea where they can all live happily ever after. It takes a brave storyteller to try and make a dark comedy from the subject of mental illness, and by combining a solid effort from Duris, a creative and engaging one from Efira and the frankly scene stealing contributions of the young Graner, Régis Roinsard just about gets away with it. Sometimes the humour is a little too surreal and in your face, but as the plot develops we are gradually drawn into their family predicament and I found myself feeling quite a bit of sympathy as you can sort of guess what is going to happen at the end. If you can forgive the first twenty minutes, then the film depicts a story that touches a few human emotions - love and selfishness chief amongst them, and is actually quite a decent watch.