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Trois ponts sur la rivière
1999 Comedy / Drama
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Summary
Arthur, a history teacher living in Paris, is on the brink of a journey of self-discovery.
Living alone for some years has made him self-centred and unfriendly - he argues with
his colleagues and brushes aside his next-door neighbour’s gestures of friendship.
Then Arthur’s outlook changes when he runs into a former girlfriend, Claire. Their
former passion rekindled, Arthur invites Claire to accompany him to Lisbon, where he plans
to track down a reclusive historian. As the task proves more difficult than
expected, Arthur finds his relationship with Claire is under great strain, and a few chance
encounters with his suspicious neighbour only heightens his anxiety...
Review
A quiet, slow and slightly disturbing film, Trois ponts sur la rivière takes
its spectator on a bizarre journey which attempts to capture the mystery of life, its
uncertainties, blind alleys, missed opportunities, and so forth. Its principal protagonists
- skilfully portrayed by Jeanne Balibar and Mathieu Amalric - are like lost sheep, struggling
to make sense of their lives and are constantly surprised by what they encounter.
To that extent, the film is a realistic portrayal of human existence, intriguing and curiously
poetic, similar to the works of Jacques Rivette. Unfortunately, the film’s apparent
lack of direction weakens the spell it has over its spectator and most audiences will
find watching this film an unrewarding experience, particularly as it tacitly avoids any
attempt at explanation. The film was one of the latter works of director
Jean-Claude Biette, one-time assistant to the Italian master Pasolini who went on to win
acclaim for his daring and humanist brand of film d’auteur.
© James Travers 2003 Write a review for this film... |
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