The Day I Saw Your Heart (Et Soudain Tout Le Monde Me Manque)
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sARSuhigDlk&w=520″]
Family is a complicated business… Especially when Eli, the father about to turn 60, is expecting a baby with his new wife. When they hear the news, his two adult daughters, Dom, who is trying to adopt, and Justine, who goes from one boyfriend to the next, are totally shaken. To get closer to Justine, with whom he’s never gotten along, Eli has the great idea of becoming pals with all her ex-boyfriends… without her knowing what he’s up to. But when Justine falls in love once again and Eli nearly ruins everything, the family is about to explode. Will this little gang manage to kiss and make up before it’s too late?
IMDb – 6 | Rotten Tomatoes – N/A | Wikipedia
Much like the other films we’ve seen at this year’s AF French Film Festival, this film has no qualms with it’s slow pace and uncertain message. For most of the film, you’re left wondering whether there is actually a point to the loose story or whether it’s just a collection of well scripted scenes that don’t necessarily lend to each other. Fortunately, the script does tie up everything towards the end (don’t worry, we won’t tell you what happens).
This is director Jennifer Devoldère‘s second feature and you can tell throughout the movie that it’s directed by someone relatively new to cinema. There are plenty of ‘fresh’ scenes, some really crisp and realistic dialogue and a lot of heart.
Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Bastards), puts together a flakey performance as the film’s central character. She is capable of much better performances (as seen in Beginners) and it’s disappointing to see her miss out on delivering with this great script. Michel Blanc as Eli, Justine’s dad, is clearly the best and most loveable character in this generally adorable film. His devil-may-care ex-Jazz-cool-cat attitude and a heavy knack for immature humour makes him one of the most endearing characters seen on the big screen in quite some time. Blanc portrays this with genuine coolness and is the biggest contributor of heart in the film.
Overall the film is light entertainment with an excellent script and a brilliantly compiled soundtrack and definitely worth it’s ticket price.
