Le Coeur fantôme (1996)
Directed by Philippe Garrel

Film Review

Director Philippe Garrel's sparse, contemplative brand of cinema is exemplified by Le Coeur fantôme, a brooding drama depicting a man caught up in a mid-life crisis, uncertain of his future and scarcely able to comprehend his past. Incredibly, the man in question is played by Luis Rego, who is most famous for belonging to the anarchic troupe Les Charlots, one of France's most successful comedy teams. Since parting company with his fellow Charlots in the early 1970s, Rego has enjoyed a successful solo career, appearing in such popular films as Les Bronzés (1978) and La Vengeance du serpent à plumes (1984). He is not the most likely actor to end up in a Philippe Garrel film and yet his portrayal of an artist floundering on mid-life uncertainties is remarkably true to life and by far the best thing Le Coeur fantôme has to offer. To add to the film's authenticity, Garrel projects onto it his own painful real-life experiences, and even reinforces the auto-biographical element by casting his father in the role of the central character's father.  The film's almost relentlessly bleak tone shows a significant departure from the gentle melancholia of Garrel's earlier films (you would hardly recognise it as the work of the same author of J'entends plus la guitare (1991)) and anticipates his subsequent darker films, notably Le Vent de la nuit (1999). Garrel's existential journey appears to have entered its nocturnal phase.

Film Synopsis

Philippe, a middle-aged artist, leaves his wife and children when he learns that his wife has a lover.  He consoles himself with the company of prostitutes until he meets Justine, a young woman who instantly falls in love with him.  Philippe's new found happiness with Justine begins to fade when he starts to regret leaving his children.  By reflecting on his parents' separation he tries to understand his own situation.