Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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68 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece , 11 Feb 2009
This is a wonderful warm and amazing movie. Its a simple story of a woman trying to re engage with her own family and society after a long absence. I dont want to give any thing away about why the main character has been away. Its so wonderfully done, slow and meaningful and searingly powerful. Its the little details that give this movie so much power. I cant remember any recent movie I have seen that left me so moved. Kristin is a towering actor, truly awesome, I cant think of any other actor who could have carried off such a demanding role with such insight & grace. Spell binding cinema, this kind of movie defines what movies should be about. I cant commend it highly enough. Work of genius. All the ensemble characters are all wonderful as well.
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42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The power of love, the power of death, a story of two sisters, 7 Mar 2009
Kristin Scott Thomas is amazing in this utterly fascinating movie about two sisters Juliette played by Kristen and Lea, a part made for the understated Elsa Zylberstein who have to get to know each other all over again after 15 years apart.
Juliette has been in prison, she murdered her six year old son Pierre and since his death she has not spoken of him but what she did caused her family to turn against her, other than her younger sister Lea who wants to mend bridges and make up for lost time.
However her time in prison has left Juliette in limbo, she is now a silent and self contained woman who no one at first can touch her, not even her younger sister Lea who has offered her a home much to the consternation of her husband Luc who worries about his two adopted daughters and his mute father, an enigmatic man who has suffered a series of strokes and now can no longer speak but he still can read and is much loved by all the family.
Juliette's slow emergence from her imprisonment, both physical and mental is a painful transition for everyone, from her wary brother-in-law, to her niece P'tit Lys who has a child's guile and understanding of human nature without even knowing it.
There is some genuine humour in the movie, like when Juliette sleeps with a man she meets in a bar and is dismissive of his sexual prowess, but best of all is the tense moment when she tells everyone at a dinner table she has been in prison for 15 years for murder, everyone but her sister, brother-in-law and a friend of her sister's roar with laughter, thinking she is being droll and sarcastic. Michel, played by the excellent, Laurent Grévill is Juliette's sister friend who forms a romantic attachment to Juliette for he alone understands what Juliette is going through and bit by bit we begin to understand why Juliette committed such a horrific crime.
This is not a sentimental film, but it is beautifully crafted and very human, and this makes it all the watchable.
Not everyone likes subtitles but I am glad they did not dub this particular film as it would have detracted from the film's nuance and beauty. Be prepared for an emotive ending that leaves you surprisingly satisfied as the two sisters finally let each other know how much they love each other and how a seemingly wanton act of violence actually was a powerful act of love.
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62 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it...you will too., 20 Jan 2009
I think this was the best independent/foreign/art-house film of 2008.
I was not too familiar with Kristen Scott-Thomas before watching this, only knowing she was a Hollywood actress. She really made her role her own in this film, and her performance in French was very convincing and precise. Of course, there are subtitles, but the entire film is in French.
This doesn't matter in the least, because the raw emotions are the same in any language and you see souls and hearts break in pieces. It's not a jaunty, happy little film by any means.
The storyline unfolds throughout, but the jist of it without giving too much away is the Scott-Thomas's character has just been released from a long prison sentence and is trying to rebuild her life. She was sent down for killing her own son.
What on earth could possess her to do this? As she begins to warm up and open up, we find out, and we see the sheer, unadulterated pain and grief of a loving mother, which time never heals.
A compelling, moving film which I couldn't recommend more.
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