On its face it looks like a provocative and interesting film could have been made, throwing a half-tame, disaffected, confused ex-Israeli soldier into the sophisticated, mindful and permanently leisured society of Paris-in-French-Movies (a place not to be confused with either Paris-in-US-Movies, or Actual-Paris where I once lived).
Sadly, the film doesn't find anything novel to explore in this setup. In fact, the central plot strand is a bog-standard, hoary, clapped-out French melodrama trope, as our unpolished, virile, tortured hero meets an artistically minded posh girl with a bland, rich boyfriend. Will they, maybe, fall for each other and have a short wild affair, before his Weltschmertz and uncouth behaviour finally cause her to turn her back on him while hiding a sob? Oh, the suspense.
Around that there are other sub-plots and minor characters thrown in, but few of them can be believed in any longer than it takes them to gaze in the distance and pout (if French), or put someone's head in an arm-lock (if Israeli).
The film is neither dumb nor unwatchable, mostly due to a highly physical central performance by the lead actor who is on screen almost the entire time, but I found it difficult to give it my full attention. The very final scene is a bit of an obvious metaphor, certainly, but it gave me a smile.
Sadly, the film doesn't find anything novel to explore in this setup. In fact, the central plot strand is a bog-standard, hoary, clapped-out French melodrama trope, as our unpolished, virile, tortured hero meets an artistically minded posh girl with a bland, rich boyfriend. Will they, maybe, fall for each other and have a short wild affair, before his Weltschmertz and uncouth behaviour finally cause her to turn her back on him while hiding a sob? Oh, the suspense.
Around that there are other sub-plots and minor characters thrown in, but few of them can be believed in any longer than it takes them to gaze in the distance and pout (if French), or put someone's head in an arm-lock (if Israeli).
The film is neither dumb nor unwatchable, mostly due to a highly physical central performance by the lead actor who is on screen almost the entire time, but I found it difficult to give it my full attention. The very final scene is a bit of an obvious metaphor, certainly, but it gave me a smile.