A Couch in New York

I think the first minutes and the end are great moments of comedy. Nevertheless if I were the director I would have explored more the situation of the characters, he in Paris, she in New York, with a lot of gags, to put them together only in the end. His sudden return to New York slows the funny rythm of the beginning in my opinion and puts us into a series of pseudo romantic very weak scenes like those sessions with Hurt on the couch and Binoche uttering monosyllabes all the time. And one "intelligent" question: how could she got the dog into the plane right in the hour in spite of all those very strict rules about animals travelling abroad?

I'm totally biased. Not objective or dispassionate. Juliette Binoche is my favorite actress of all time and every time I see her do anything on screen it's captivating. And William Hurt is one of my favorite actors. And the idea for the film was a very good one, however I think the french writer must have been resposible for most of the dialogue because a lot of it is nonsensical/out of place.

That said, nice little stories like these (not cheesy, just "light") are one of the resons why I love film. I think of Chacun Cherche son Chat for the epitome of what I'm talking about...I saw this with my gf (now wife) at the Kabuki in SF and we both had a great time.

Dr. Henry Harriston, a psychoanalyst, is so sick of his patients he puts an ad in the Herald-Tribune asking to swap his New York apartment for one in Paris. Beatrice, who answers the ad because her friend Anne lives in New York, seems to get the better part of the deal. Dr. Harriston has a fabulous apartment and Beatrice's building is noisy and falling apart. Then Dr. Harriston's patients start showing up at his place. Also, Dr. Harriston's dog Edgard is lethargic and has intestinal problems. Meanwhile, Beatrice has a number of men after her, mostly borderline insane.

Juliette Binoche is pretty and so charming, and she really shows genuine concern for Dr. Harriston's patients--one in particular. Richard Jenkins does something unique and unexpected as one of the patients. And William Hurt eventually does show his talent as well. Most of the leading actors gave good performances.

The first half was quite funny, but the second half leaned more toward drama. Though there were funny moments, such as when Dr. Harriston tried to carry on a conversation with his friend Dennis while Dennis was taking an order at a restaurant.

The ending was very sweet. Overall, this film was worth seeing.

"Juliette Binoche cannot act", according to 'anonnymous' below. That is

a ridiculous assertion. As is to link this film with Kieslowski's

'Blue'. The problem with this movie is that neither Binoche nor Hurt are

given the material in the form of a good screenplay nor the direction to

make the film work. It seems to me that Akerman, who is an excellent

director, see La Captive, does not have a good enough command of English

to write a screenplay in the language.

The film, which starts out nicely quickly gets bogged down in the

psychoanalyitical. Endless "yes" and "mmmmm"s loose their amusement

value quickly. The romance angle is badly developed, just why has

Beatrice fallen for John Wire aka Henry? It doesnt work.

But Juliette Binoche can act. In fact in Europe she is regarded with

Isabelle Huppert to be the finest actress working today. But she can

only produce the goods when she is given the material and the careful

direction necessary. Go rent "Rendez-Vous", "The Unbearable Lightness of

Being", "Les Amants du Pont-Neuf", "Three Colours Blue", "Alice &

Martin", "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" and especially "Code Innconnu" and

try arguing otherwise.

I don't understand why this movie isn't more popular. William Hurt plays wonderfully sensitive and sincere. Juliette Binoche is charming and natural. The story is like a book. And the filmmakers and photographers have caught the moments just right. The lines and words are not pathetic: they are intelligent and honest.

I love this film. I have seen it several times and Cole Porters "Night and day" suits the film and actors really well.

I give this film top score for seeing the special art and beauty of living. Few movies catches the small deatils like this one: In colours, quite comfortable moments, moods, real life-pictures and honest life-image.

Thank you very much, filmmakers, actors, storytellers, composers and photographers for reminding us how beautiful life can be.