Camille redouble

Ten years after this release I'm reviewing this movie... go figure.

At close to two hours this is quite a long film since the character progression and ultimate outcome are wispy thin developments that go nowhere. It sort of made me feel cheated for watching something I had for the most part, enjoyed and had high expectations for.

Generally 'Going back in Time' films address some aspect of life that needs to be addressed or changed. If offers the opportunity for resolution of some sort which the screenplay then provides. This isn't really the case here, and although I'm not opposed to the different approach taken to the execution normally chosen, there was a lack of progression here that sort of expresses.... an exercise in futility. That said I did enjoy the film for the most part.

It was very well acted and directed. The period authenticity, the relationship of friendship and deep bonding between the girls in their youth, especially given the actress who plays the Camile -Noémie Lvovsky is considerably older than the actresses who play her peers, is very well done and powerfully portrayed.

Some aspects of the film didn't work for me. I can understand why she feels so strongly for the boyfriend of her youth, since for her, there are twenty four years of marriage and love to relate to, but his feelings for her are implausible. He's just met her and they've barely had any interaction yet he speaks of maddening love and desire. The love he speaks of, so deep like magnetic bonds that compare to planetary gravitation is inexplicable. This really needed to be demonstrated rather than told. It's a similar experience with the Physics teacher she becomes attached to at the drop of a hat for apparently no reason; what! When! Why? There is a lot of 'fluff' in the film that should have been abandoned in favour of emphasising these aspects of the movie.

Ultimately the time travel aspect of the film isn't really explored as anything more than an elaborate flashback, and this causes the movie to fall somewhat with any sort of real development or conclusion. If your going to go through the trouble of 'a time journey back to the past', for god sake do something with it.

That said, I still enjoyed the movie and think 7/10 may be a little high for what it delivers, but the aspects of the film that 'were' good, were very good.