"I send a greeting like the scent of roses,
I send it to a rosy face.
I send a greeting like spring caresses,
I send it to an eye full of spring light.
From the storms of pain that roar through my heart,
I send a breath, it will not touch you harshly!
When you remember the joyless,
Then the sky of my nights becomes bright."
_The Love Letter_ a paean to amour fou and all
things old-fashioned -- starting with the titular
object (hand-written) and lieder by Schumann
and Vivaldi which set the tone in the credits.
If you subscribe to the buzzword industry
(selling "mental health" and sundry snake oil)
you will do well to skip it. To the rest of the
romantics, the film is an extraordinary treat.
Jonas (Gregory Montel, "Call My Agent" ) is
having a hard day, chasing after embezzling
contractors while pining for ex-girl-friend Lea
in a bar across from her 2nd floor apartment.
Montel always looks like he slept in his shirt
overnight. (He actually did when the film
began, but a shower and a fresh shirt don't
improve things.) Lea (Anais Demoustier), a
classical singer and complicated woman,
has a love-hate relation with Jonas. He
furiously scribbles an epic letter in the cafe
in between stealing into her place to confront
a would-be romantic rival, having fist-fights,
meeting his ex-wife (a kind Lea Drucker), and
breaking up an attempted murder. It is that
kind of day.
Demoustier has limited screen time --
Nadege Beausson- Diagne may be the true lead
actress -- but her divine early scenes, eyes
full of Spring's light and caresses, rationalize
Jonas's infatuation. According to the credits
the actress even sang the Schumann piece
scored to Ruckert's verse. (Speaking of time's
passage, the poet was once wildly popular
but now I cannot find any published English
translation of his work.) Bar owner Mathieu
(a bear-like Gregory Gadebois) is the other
major character and Jonas's counterpoint.
Gadebois even made his debut in Bonnell's
celebrated first feature _Le Chignon d'Olga_!
The large ensemble supporting cast playing
flawed characters dealing with their little
drama, the lived-in clutter, the polyphonic
voices, all harken back to _Olga_. Jonas and
his new acquaintances run the gamut from
heroism to stupid excesses, some time all
in one scene. Bonnell's recent work has been
more focused but has missed that slice-of-life,
Jean Renoir touch. The film's upstairs-
downstairs setup may even have been inspired
by Kieslowski's _Red_. The cast is multi-ethnic
now -- even Korean voices are included -- but
Bonnell's benevolent humanism has stayed the
course. Through it all Mathieu, the film's
calm center, stoically takes in the human
foibles around him, offering food, drinks,
and free advice on Jonas letter. He may be
the stand-in for the director of this
tender film, navigating the storms of pain
that roar through people's heart, only
transmitting a breath that will not touch
us too harshly.
