I've Loved You So Long (2008)

A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.

Director:

Philippe Claudel

Writer:

Philippe Claudel

Stars:

Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Juliette
Elsa Zylberstein	...	Léa
Serge Hazanavicius	...	Luc
Laurent Grévill	...	Michel
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Capitaine Fauré
Lise Ségur	...	P'tit Lys
Jean-Claude Arnaud	...	Papy Paul
Mouss Zouheyri	...	Samir
Souad Mouchrik	...	Kaisha
Nicole Dubois	...	DRH hôpital
Catherine Hosmalin	...	Conseillère d'insertion
Laurent Claret	...	Directeur hôpital
Marcel Ouendeno	...	Bamakalé
Gérard Barbonnet	...	Monsieur Lucien
Jérémie Covillault	...	Jeune inspecteur

Storyline

Juliette was 15 years in prison. Confronted with the unexpected goodness of her younger sister Léa, who makes Juliette a part of her family, very slowly breaks up Juliette's ice and bitterness and she carefully opens up.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a child | child | death of a child | reading a newspaper | tossing a pillow | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [UK]

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French English

Release Date:

20 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hace mucho que te quiero

Filming Locations:

Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$64,731, 26 October 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,167,876, 19 April 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

UGC YM, Integral Film, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The note written by Juliette's dead son, which Lea finds by accident, reads: "Un jardin sous la plui c'est doux triste come moi sans toi. Maman je veux pas que tu meure jamais. On sera ensemble toujours. Tu es mon amour. Ton petit Pierre". (A garden under the rain is sweet sad like me without you. Mama I don't want you to die ever. We'll be together always. You are my love. Your little Pierre.)

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Quotes

P'tit Lys: The prince went slowly through the forest. His beautiful horse was silent. The sky was taking on the color of roses. "Will I be in time?" the prince wondered. He remembered what the magician had told him. "Night is your only enemy. Once it has cast its cloak of darkness over the world and you cannot tell the shadow of a dog from that of a wolf, you will know it is too late and that your beautiful lady is lost forever. Hurry if you love her." The prince's heart was pounding.

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Connections

Featured in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

Meunier, Tu Dors
Traditional French
Performed by Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius and Lise Ségur

User Reviews

Finely crafted and well acted piece

"I've Loved You So Long" is one of those, increasingly rare, films which moves slowly and carefully, but is utterly involving from the first. It does not worry about its audience getting bored and has the courage not to rush through its story. In return for this, the audience is treated to an excellently made and moving character piece about love, loss and family which never falls into sentiment.

At the heart of the film are two great performances. Kristen Scott Thomas, acting in her second language, delivers a turn which is subtle, enigmatic but not completely indecipherable. The interest that her character creates is fully paid off. She also performs well with Elsa Zylberstein who, like Scott Thomas, delivers a deft performance but with a lot less material to work with. Her character, Léa, is a little underexplored, but Zylberstein more than makes up for this.

The two of them manage to hold their audience's attention, as Philippe Claudel unfolds his story with care. Scott Thomas's Juliette arrives at the beginning of the film, having been away for reasons unknown. Claudel keeps us guessing as to exactly why she has been absent, whilst building a detailed portrait of a wounded woman trying to rebuild her shattered life and trying to conquer seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

The master stroke is the central character of Juliette, who remains fairly ambiguous throughout. One is called at once to dislike those who judge her, but at the same time one is unsure as to whether you should like her. Whilst she will not go down as a classic character, it is a fine example of screen writing and acting.

Whilst the slow pace may not be to everyone's taste, those who enjoy finely crafted and well performed pieces of film will find much to like here. Scott Thomas's performance is certainly worth the admission fee, whilst the film lives up to it.

4 Stars out of 5