 |
 |
I've Loved You So Long is one of the most talked-about movies of this year, and the lion's share of that talk is all about the performance given by Kristin Scott Thomas.
In fact, her performance is the movie.
I've Loved You So Long (Il ya longtemps que je t'aime) is a film about rebirth and redemption, a story of family ties that were tested but not broken.
Scott Thomas is Juliette and Elsa Zylberstein is Lea, her younger sister. The movie opens with Lea picking up Juliette from the airport, and it's obvious that the two women have not seen each other in a long time. Just as obvious is the fact that Juliette has been institutionalized in some way or another -- her dress, her demeanour and her isolation attest to that.
I've Loved You So Long is not a mystery, but it is one of those films in which the less you know going in, the better. Juliette, as it happens, has been away for 15 years, and she is only going to live with her sister because there is nowhere else for her to go. The sisters have been apart so long they are almost strangers.
Slowly and awkwardly, they begin the process of getting to know each other all over again. Lea explains that when Juliette went away their parents told Lea to forget she'd ever had a sister. She was to pretend she was an only child, and Juliette was not to be discussed. Accused of forgetting all about her older sister, Lea produces the diary she kept as a young girl, with its references to Juliette every single day.
|
Lea's husband, Luc, is not happy to have Juliette under his roof. Lea and Luc have two little daughters who are wary of Juliette and wonder why they've never met their auntie before.
Juliette has to find a way to live in the world again, even though she seems most unwilling to fully engage in life. She has to socialize, find a job, re-enter the human race. It appears to be agony to do so. What brings Juliette back to the land of the living is her sister's love.
Watching Scott Thomas in I've Loved You So Long is like watching a frozen figure slowly thaw and come back to life. This initially colourless character is revealed to be an educated, sophisticated, accomplished woman; she is emotionally dead, is Juliette, and her reawakening to life is slow, complex and wonderful to look at -- as is the movie.
I've Loved You So Long is a love letter to family. It's an homage to the restorative power of love. It's a gift of forgiveness.
And amazingly, it's a feature directorial debut from novelist Philippe Claudel.
Can't wait to see what he does next.
I've Loved You So Long is in French with English subtitles. NB: Bring Kleenex.
(This film is rated 14-A)