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Les Amants réguliers
2005 Drama
 More French Drama |
Synopsis
May 1968. The streets of Paris are ablaze as students and riot police unwittingly
re-enact the famous barricade scene from Les Misèrables
. One of these students is François Dervieux, a 20 year-old
student, idealist and aspiring poet, who, along with his opium-smoking friends, has taken
up the revolutionary cause. At a party, he meets Lilie, a young sculptor who seems
to share his ideals and with whom he falls madly in love…
Film Review
Les Amants réguliers is director Philippe
Garrel’s interpretation of the turbulent events of May 1968, informed by his own pretty
“hands on” experiences of the time. Adopting the cinematic style of the great French
New Wave directors (notably Eustache, Godard and Rivette), Garrel succeeds in transporting
us back to the late 1960s, to a period of great social and political upheaval, and also
one of great artistic release. The film’s two principal actors – Louis Garrel (the
director’s talented son) and Clotilde Hesme bear more than a passing resemblance to two
of the most prominent icons of the New Wave movement, Jean-Pierre Léaud and Anna
Karina. Meanwhile, William Lubtchansky’s beautiful black-and-white cinematography
creates the illusion that the film is a genuine product of the era in which it is set.
As a homage to the French New Wave and for its neo-realist depiction of the 1968 riots, the film does have a lot going for it. However, Les Amants réguliers cannot be described as a film that is easy to watch, and it certainly is not in the same league as the films whose style it emulates. Copying one great piece of art doesn’t guarantee that what you get will be another great piece of art. Whilst Les Amants réguliers perfectly captures the style and form of a great piece of 1960s French cinema, it somehow fails to convey the essence and raw poetry that made such films so great. So, whereas Jean Eustache’s four-hour long La Maman et la putain (1973) is an absorbing work of great artistic genius and humanity, Les Amants réguliers, at just under three hours, feels largely inconsequential, ponderous and a tad over-pretentious. Garrel’s appropriation of some of the New Wave techniques – such as Jean-Juc Godard’s device of actors talking to camera in an improvised manner – feel contrived and tedious, whilst his use of protracted long shots seems calculated to test the patience of the spectator to the absolute limit. Although Philippe Garrel manages – at least to some extent – to convey the mood and artistic style of the late 1960s, his film doesn’t tell us much about what the protagonists of May ’68 felt, thought or experienced. Far more can be gleaned from Jean-Luc Godard’s films of the period than from this well-meant but over-directed pastiche. © James Travers 2006 Write a review for this film... User Comments
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