Movie Review: Il y a longtemps que j'taime

I need first to begin by declaring my love for French films.  There's just something about them.

French director Phillipe Claudel's Il y a longtemps que je t'aime or I've Loved You So Long is no exception. Slow moving yet intriguing storylines, stunning camera angles, and passionate characters are all intricately combined.  I saw the film at the F.M. Kirby Center on a "date night" with a friend and the classic beauty of the Kirby and respectful audience only heightened my viewing experience.

Kristen Scott Thomas plays Juliette, a woman who spent fifteen years in prison for killing her 6-year old son but only now is getting out and living with her sister Lea, played by Elsa Zylberstein.  Lea is a woman full of life living with her two daughters and husband but must now incorporate her long-lost and exiled sister into the life she has created for herself.  In addition to Juliette and Lea, who are the main characters, there is a strong supporting cast including Lea's husband Luc, played by Serge Hazanivicius, his live-in father whom they call Papy played by Jean-Claude Arnaud, and then there's Michel, the love-interest and companion to Juliette played by Laurent Grevill.

The subtle progression of the film allows the audience to watch the characters unfold before their eyes.  For example, Juliette begins the film weathered and beaten by her years in prison but as time and life move on she becomes more upbeat and the bags under her eyes even begin to disappear.  The film is distinct from other films because the whole plot rests on why did she kill her six year old son?  Juliette is portrayed as a cold and calculating woman in the first half of the film.  She even  faces the threat to lose her job if she doesn't warm up to her co-workers; however, such warmth, particularly on demand, is simply not in her nature.  The changes she undergoes throughout the story are so subtle; however up until the end of the film, it is not noticeable that she has come to terms with herself and her crime.

Because you never know why Juliette is so quiet and reclusive, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that she had some type of post-traumatic stress disorder that made her commit the crime.  Realistically, this is what made the film so good.  Another execellent point of the film was that the story took the audience through a series of scenarios to build the foundation for why she killed her son, which was revealed in the last 20 minutes of the film.  I don't want to be a spoiler, but one question that still lingers in my mind is why didn't she defend herself in court?  Nonetheless, the film was less plot driven  than it wasn driven by the characters.

Kristen Scott Thomas is a native English speaker but it is said that her roles in French films are much more poignant.  I think her French is excellent and I also feel that because it is not her first language it allows for her face to do more of the acting rather than thinking about body movements or hand gestures.  This was definitely an Oscar-worthy performance by Thomas.  Elsa Zylberstein is also close to perfection as Juliette's caring sister.  As the movie unfolds you find that Juliette and Lea's parents brainwashed themselves and Lea to believe that Juliette never existed which only thickens the plot.

All in all, Il y a longtemps que je t'aime is a film for those who love the art of film making.  I cannot rave enough about the acting and Phillipe Claudel's directing skills shine through the camera work and intense emotion behind every scene.  A +