Book of Love

a bitter one. because , the film propose a provocative moral lesson. correct, not real original, but seductive. a meet between a young man and a couple. the storm, the revelation of crisis, the only reasonable choice. and Cambodgia. not the most convincing performances and a simple story. and few hot scenes. a secret. and the answer who escapes the film from platitude. without be an admirer of it, "Book of love" is a reasonable good film. for questions, for Gregory Smith work, for the exploration, in beautiful manner, of the temptation, sin and the force of secret.

The young couple Elaine Walker (Frances O'Connor) and the history teacher David Walker (Simon Baker) meets a fifteen years old lonely teenager Chet Becker (Gregory Smith) in an ice-cream shop and they become friends. David has a crush on Elaine and they have one night stand. Elaine tells her infidelity to David, and their life is affected by the affair.

When I saw the very low IMDb rating of "Book of Love", I questioned whether it would be worthwhile watching this movie. Fortunately I decided to see it, since it is a good romance, with some eroticism and a simple story, but a great and credible conclusion. I regret only the thirty-one minutes of trailers in the beginning of the VHS released in Brazil by California Filmes, probably a shameful worldwide record. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Traição" ("Betrayal")

I saw this at a Slamdance Best Of screening in the East Village. I go to all their films there. This was an intelligent, quiet film with really great acting from all three leads. I liked it at first because it didn't try to push any messages or morals on me. Then I started to think about it afterward, and as time went by, it impressed me more and more. It seems to be about a lot of important things. It made me question how people behave and how I judge people. I hate to use the word 'haunting,' it sounds like a cliché, but the film did end up haunting me. I went out and rented other films with these actors (see Francis O'Conor in Mansfield Park!), and also found one by the director, a short called O Beautiful, which is also very good and (here I go again) 'haunting.' So, see if you have a chance.

A young married couple befriends a lonely teenage boy in an ice cream shop. As the friendship blossoms, romantic feelings develop between the wife and the boy. It's a provocative story with contemporary relevance. Withy a backdrop of New Age philosophy "Book Of Love" explores the impact of this unsettling romance on the three individuals.

The acting of the three leads is fine. But the screenplay is thin. Even with a runtime of just 83 minutes, there's just not that much substance. Director Alan Brown tries to draw a parallel between the wife's mistakes in judgment and the mistakes of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, a parallel that seems contrived at best. Further, the wife's involvement with the boy lacks a motivational basis, given her current marriage. And her behavior seems way too casual to be credible.

Nominated for an award at the Sundance Film Festival, "Book Of Love" at least tries to do something daring. It is low-key, and not at all exploitative. The background music is interesting. And, as a low budget film, the production values are credible. On the other hand, the script probably does not have enough conflict or plot complication to engage most viewers. The story seems too direct and too linear to be compelling.

romance, betrayal, history, choices. not remarkable and not so bad. only a common story with few fake moments but with a decent and almost moralistic end. the subject is not new and acting is not always convincing. the script - like a script who desires tell a story without great problems. short - about love and relationship. about dreams and the real life purpose. not boring. but old as idea. only good thing for me - references to Cambodgia. far to be nice. a film who can remains, as few drops in memory only for the cinnamon taste of last scenes. is it enough ? I do not know. but it is a nice opportunity to remember the past/the culture of a magnificent Asian country civilization