3 coeurs

Director Benoît Jacquot's "3 coeurs" ("3 Hearts") gathers on screen a stellar cast. The three lead feminine roles are trusted to Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the daughter of ..., and Chiara Mastroianni, also the daughter of ... and also the daughter of Deneuve in real life. Gainsbourg and Mastroianni play the roles of two sisters in whose life shows up a man - the role is played by Benoît Poelvoorde, whom I have last time seen playing the role of ... God in The Brand New Testament, a film which you should search to see if you happen to have missed. The names and fame of the actors were the principal reasons for which I chose to see this film, and probably also the main reasons for which I will remember it.

Marc Beaulieu (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a tax inspector. A good one and probably even a man of integrity because we see him involved in valiantly handling a high-level corruption case (not really related to the rest of the story). Numbers and determinism may be his profession, but hazard seems to reign in his personal life, which looks like a mess in which he attracts also the two sisters, one after the other. His heart is also feeble, the heart which is said to be for humans the center of noble emotions, but which also distracts and derails the paths of life when it physically malfunctions. Should we let hazard (or destiny) reign upon our lives, or should we try to fix its effects? Is this even possible?

The questions raised by the story in the film are interesting, the resulting film is not really up to the premises. The principal reason is the pace of the story, which lingers for long periods, to jump suddenly at some moments, without a good connection between the different episodes. Good acting cannot save the flaws of the story and especially of the story telling, and despite the promises "3 coeurs" ends by being just another love triangle movie.

Is there such a thing as true love at first sight? This film attempts to follow the course of three people's lives in the exploration of the question, even if there is no answer forthcoming. Is there ever?

One night in a small French town, a tax accountant named Marc has missed the last train to Paris and chances upon a woman in a hotel bar. They start talking, rather, he runs after her, and we're told they spend the night wandering around in perfect harmony. No names or numbers or other mundane details are exchanged, although they do promise to meet the next week at a certain location in Paris.

This seems to be the only time the two characters actually do something, as in, take a decision. From here on out, life just takes over. The meeting at the Jardin de Toulieres (jaw-droppingly beautiful, what is it with Paris and its gardens) never takes place. Marc is prone to panic attacks, you see. Or was it an actual heart attack? Anyway, the two would-be lovers are thus separated. Thereafter, Marc somehow meets another woman, falls in love, marries. But ah! this new woman, Sophie, unbeknownst to all, is actually the sister of the old one, Sylvie. Ergo, path to destruction has been charted.

Read full review at: http://devikamenon.blogspot.com/2016/06/french- movie-friday-3-coeurs.html

Don't be fooled by the low rating. Totally loved this film. Very realistic. This is not a Hollywood film with a lot of special effects. So if you are looking for a fairy tale, move on to the next film in queue. The cast is absolutely superb - very real life, all very likable. I loved the three main characters played by Benoit, Charlotte and Chiara. It is hard to dictate whom and how to love, how to fall out of love. And the film is about emotional turmoil involved in chance meetings and close-knit triangles. The ending is open to interpretation. And last, but not least, I totally and completely disagree with other reviewers who mentioned that the cast is sub-par (so far from reality). Great film.

I chose to watch it by coincidence. I could see most reviews were not favorable. It's slow in pace and lacked of dialogues and physical actions also. Yet, the actors and actresses resonated with me.

The story revealed how falling in love in first sight happened if you ever vouched for it. It's far from the Cinderella story. On the contrary, the subsequent was tragic. The twists and turns of three involved parties had fateful endings. Nonetheless, it left me long lasting reflections.

Frequently, American movies overwhelmed with dialogues and actions. Inadvertently, audience are practically told how to feel also. Employing body languages and facial expressions to depict the story would raise audience's senses for a change. Movies like this could linger in your thought for a while. They also require higher degrees of crafts which actors here sometimes are not equipped to do.

It's not a dramatic one but you will remember and be moved by. I would recommend it.

This was a funny one for me... while there was a lot to admire about this movie, there were several things that irritated me about it.

On the one hand, it was, in many respects a well-made film; the acting was superb (almost always the case in European movies), the pacing was good, and it was well shot. Some of the scenes were excellent, and the director did a fantastic job of building the tension, and making the audience squirm as the main protagonist dug himself deeper and deeper into a hole of self-destruction. The ending was left deliberately and intriguingly ambiguous (which I like). There were also moments of real comedy, which were well-placed.

There were, however, a number of frustrating aspects to it. Several elements of the plot were glaringly improbable, which made the characters harder to empathise with, and the movie harder to take seriously. The musical score was almost comically ominous and melodramatic. A narrator suddenly popped up halfway through the movie and only appeared twice more - a needless, distracting and frankly baffling gimmick. One strand of the plot fizzled out and proved ultimately irrelevant.

In summary, this movie is worth seeing if there's nothing else on. There are some interesting ideas, some great scenes, and its emotional, passionate nature would appeal to the romantics of this world. The cast is also superb. There were, however, several problems with it, which served to exasperate me.