Coeurs (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Alain Resnais

Writers:

Alan Ayckbourn (play)
Jean-Michel Ribes (writer)

Release Date:

22 November 2006 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

For six strangers in search of love, the City of Lights can be a very lonely place.

Plot:

In Paris, six people all look for love, despite typically having their romantic aspirations dashed at every turn.

Plot Keywords:

Bartender | Old Man | Love | Flower | Video Tape

Awards:

5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Sabine Azéma	...	Charlotte
Isabelle Carré	...	Gaëlle
Laura Morante	...	Nicole
Pierre Arditi	...	Lionel
André Dussollier	...	Thierry
Lambert Wilson	...	Dan
Claude Rich	...	Arthur (voice)
Françoise Gillard	...	Speakerine TV
Anne Kessler	...	Présentatrice émission TV
Roger Mollien	...	Soldat poète émission TV
Florence Muller	...	Critique d'art émission TV
Michel Vuillermoz	...	Architecte émission TV

Also Known As:

Private Fears in Public Places (International: English title) (USA) (festival title)
Cuori (Italy)
Petites peurs partagées (France) (working title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Italy:T | Germany:12 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M

Company:

Soudaine Compagnie

Trivia:

There is a Scarborough poster in Thierry's home. The English seaside resort of Scarborough is the home of the play's author, Sir Alan Ayckbourn.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Charlotte has the tomato soup thrown at her by Arthur, the front of her blouse and sweater have large reddish stains on them. When Lionel returns home and is talking to her, the stains have disappeared.

A very funny and insightful reflection on relationships and solitude

Coeurs, the latest achievement of French master Alain Resnais, stands out as one of the finest European productions of 2006, a fact confirmed by the Silver Lion it was awarded in Venice. While the critics and audience at the festival were more anxious to see other films, like The Black Dahlia or INLAND EMPIRE, this small, intimate, bittersweet character study quietly moved towards well deserved recognition, proving that the great New Wave director had lost none of his special touch.

Like one of his best known films, Smoking/No Smoking, Coeurs is based on a play by Alan Ayckbourn. But whereas Smoking/No Smoking retained its untarnished Englishness, Resnais makes it pretty clear that he's keeping his new work as distant as possible from its literary source: the title is completely different (as the French filmmaker thought Private Fears in Public Places was misleading in regards to the subject), and the story is set in Paris, with the inevitable (and, I might add, quite brilliant) changes in the dialogue that this requires.

The film focuses on six people struggling to achieve or maintain meaningful relationships. There's the aging Thierry (André Dussollier, funny and heartbreaking at the same time) who has to fight his feelings for his younger assistant (Sabine Azéma). There's his sister Gaelle (Isabelle Carré), who goes out on blind dates every night and always comes back hugely disappointed. There's Nicole (Laura Morante), a frustrated woman who's trying to find a nice apartment whilst dealing with her unemployed and increasingly detached boyfriend, Dan (Lambert Wilson). And there's Lionel (Pierre Arditi, a laconic revelation), a lonely bartender who has to take care of his father, the rude, sex-obsessed Arthur (Claude Rich, heard but not seen). Over the course of four days, these characters will meet and affect each others'lives in unexpected, amusing, but also very touching ways.

With this masterwork, Resnais proves himself a true auteur, telling us an apparently simple tale of love and longing with a direct, honest approach, from the hilarious beginning to the moving, open conclusion. In adapting Ayckbourn's stage work, he manages the impossible, which is to make the movie look theatrical but not overly bizarre, using subtle, unpretentious tricks: the speaking parts belong solely to the six leading actors (plus Rich's priceless vocal cameo), every single scene takes place indoors (and the locations are always the same), and, most importantly, sequences are linked by a metaphorical snowfall, which gives the film a poetic, almost magical feel.

Those who thought Closer could have benefited from less swearing and more sympathy for its characters should watch Coeurs. It may not exactly end on a happy note, but at least it doesn't risk sliding into misanthropy. Beneath the apparent pessimism, there's a heart beating. The heart of an experienced director who hasn't stopped to amaze us.