MFFF MOVIE REVIEW: THREE HEARTS (3 COEURS)


41/2/5

Mark is a 47 year old accountant, who had missed his train to Paris and stuck for the night in a provincial town. Here he meets Sylvie, with whom he spends the night wondering the town's streets and falls in love. They do not exchange phone numbers, promise each other to meet in a week's time... Alas that does not occur. Unexpectedly, Mark meets Sophie, Sylvie's sister. He does not know that the two women are related and begins dating Sophie. It is not long until three hearts are locked in a triangle of passion, lies and an ultimate betrayal. What will be the collateral damage and what is the right choice to make, when wherever you turn you hurt someone?

Benoit Jacquot created a love triangle like no other - the movie is very dark even at the height of the positive moments in the characters lives. The main titles open with an alarming music, menacing piano cords that prepare you for a very tense viewing. This love story is shot like a thriller, with many moments of genuine fear. You do feel for the characters, and while it is easy to assess the wrong choices they make, it is also clear that being who they are they could not do otherwise.

Benoit Puelvoorde is in unlikely serious dramatic role. His Mark is a weak man who only shines when the light of the others reflect on him. He understand this, saying in the very beginning that the most important thing for him when he is involved with a woman is to be a part of her private life. Sylvie and Sophie are ready to provide this light, and in Mark they find the source of this magical feeling they could only dream of. Now they are ready to sacrifice everything for this ability to love. Mark's problem is that he feels too much, his inability making decisions changes when he is with the one he loves, but it only leads to more wrong decisions and inevitably to a disaster.

3 HEARTS is not a light viewing. It is not a short film, and some may find it slow, but the love triangle is done here like never before and the story feels fresh and engaging.

Although it is not a perfect movie: having a few redundant subplots (the downfall of a tax evasive mayor for example) and some loose ends, the story could have been a little cleaner and more focused. There is too much symbolism in the movie - the image of a lighter that has to be shaken and pushed hard to produce a flame and the antique mirror, that Sylvie had bought and never managed to sell, are overused, as If the director trying too hard make sure we understand how meaningful these objects are for a film. But all this can be forgotten for the originality in which the topic is presented and the ending, that may not be unexpected, but is ultimately satisfying.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Door Lock (Korean Movie Review)

Image
8/10 The life of Kyung-min is a work-home-sleep routine and rarely varies. But out of nowhere unsettling incidents start creeping in. The door handle to her apartment turns in the middle of the night as if someone is trying to enter, repeatedly dialling the passcode of her door lock. Is it possible that someone enters her apartment when she is out at work or worse, when she is fast asleep? And how all this connected to the disappearance of a girl next door? Kyung-min will not rest until she finds out, even if it may cost her her life. DOOR LOCK is loosely based on a Spanish movie SLEEP TIGHT which was rather a drama than a thriller. By changing the setting to a cold faceless suburb of Seoul the movie takes us into the heart of an urban nightmare where it’s easy to disappear and no-one will come looking for you. Kyung-min is an unlikable protagonist who is suffering from multiple phobias and is even ready to break certain rules to flirt with her clients, but she develops strength
Read more

IFF MOVIE REVIEW; PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SUNNY SPELLS (TEMPO INSTABILE COM PROBABILI SCHIARITE)

Image
2 1/5 /5 Ermanno and Giacomo are two friends and partners in a small furniture business. As their finances are running dry threatening the closure of the factory an incredible thing occurs - they discover the the oil on their backyard. To put the oil on a production rails requires a significant investment of money and effort, and the two old friends go head to head when their opinions on what to do with the grand discovery differ. What will win, the honest stubbornness or practicality? There are films that are not intended for an international market and PARTLY CLOUDY is one of those films. Oriented mainly for the family viewing it includes animation sequences that are too unoriginal to attract younger viewers while the two middle aged men arguing over the oil does not make an intensive enough experience for an older audience either. Even the charisma of the ever popular  Luca Zingsretti in the role of Giacomo is somehow inefficient in this well written, but weakly sho
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - the film c
Read more