Plaire, aimer et courir vite

Moving. Covering the moments of death and enthusiasm, and discarding the temptations of flattery and rationality, under the practice of character collage and easy to find the overlapping surface of the painting, the most interesting and charming is the presence of several different spaces. The offensive temperament conversation is clear but cold.

Christophe Honore is a director who has never interested me much; Dans Paris was a bore, and most of his features haven't played in North America. He has talent, but not a narrative sense. His actors carry the movie along, but even they can't do anything about the last 30 minutes, which are a total waste of time. Setting the story in 1993, with ACT-UP just starting in France, we are fed disjointed scenes with characters who drift in and out of the action. Pierre Deladonchamps is convincing as Jacques, and Denys Podalydes has some cynical and funny scenes. I'd really like to try Chouchen, the Breton liqueur.

Although I enjoyed the overall plot, emotion behind it and the acting, the film lasted too long and there was not enough substance to keep me gripped the whole way through. I kept thinking to myself throughout the film that I have seen this all before (120 Battements par Minute, Call Me By Your Name etc.) and unfortunately, there was little which separated this film from LGBT films of this genre and this plot to make it a front runner.

SPOILERS Ahead ** Having lost many friends to hiv/aids, this one made me tear up. Not sure exactly what the author's main message was, but I sure sympathized with several of the themes contained here... There's the harshness and cruelty of the early years of aids; the older, younger relationship; bad timing; loss of loved ones; people at different stages of coming out; Having a son, and the son's mother (or who-ever) still in one's life. A lot going on in this film, but it all flows smoothly. Our main character Jacques (Pierre Deladonchamps) is a writer who has aids. He has an agreement with his ex-partner that when things get really bad, they don't want to linger. Jacques meets Arthur (Vincent Lacoste) a much younger dude, and they start spending time together. Many of their discussions (and the whole film overall) include talk of various famous writers. At one point, Arthur goes to visit the graves of several writers in Paris. As Jacques' health gets progressively worse, Arthur wants to be with him, but is rebuffed. With the meds available now, things are SO much better, so this is clearly a period piece, from a darker time. A cute moment when Arthur meets the son's mother, and she says "Is this the first you've heard of us?" The part of the film that resonated with me was just missed connections... bad timing of relationships; when one person is so much more in love than the other, or unable to return the time and love, for whatever reason. mixed emotions. we've all experienced one or more of these life experiences, so this would be a good film for anyone to watch. Well done. At the very end, Jacques says he hopes his son can forgive him. but we're not sure exactly what for. Sweet. Written and directed by Christophe Honoré... i've seen earlier works of his, and quite enjoyed them. Recommended!