Philippe
Garrel’s magnificent and beguiling gem Lover
for a Day is a work of such heartbreaking beauty, radical formal lucidity
and exquisite emotional precision, that one might feel the presence of so many French
masters while watching it – Rohmer’s understated portrayals of romantic
complications, Bresson’s monochrome realism and “stripped to the bones” aesthetics,
and indeed also the muted, intimate ménage
à trois in the autobiographical works of the younger
Garrel. This deceptively brilliant masterwork had all the hallmarks of the veteran
auteur’s craftsmanship – delightful low-key interplay between three complexly
etched protagonists, absorbing intimacy of a chamber drama, and the lightness
of touch while portraying the brittle nature of relationships. Upon an
intensely painful breakup, an emotionally wrecked Jeanne (Esther Garrel, the
director’s daughter) lands in the homey little flat of her father Gilles (Éric
Caravaca), a mild-mannered professor of philosophy, who’s having a passionate affair
and living together with Ariane (Louise Chevillotte), a former student of his
at the university. That the two girls are of roughly the same age begins their interactions
on a testy note, but it soon evolves into warm camaraderie bound by empathy and
shared secrets – Jeanne inadvertently gets to know that Ariane had once posed
topless, and in turn a suicide attempt by Jeanne that Ariane somehow prevents;
and their friendship is counterpointed by the themes of fidelity vis-à-vis
sexual freedom that play out between Gilles and Ariane. Dazzling, grainy, softly
illuminated, high contrast B/W photography imbued the interiors and the
Parisian streets with a remarkably moody atmosphere; this, along with exquisite
use of elegiac organ-based score and terrific turns – especially by Chevillotte
and Garrel – made this such a splendid rendition of lived experiences.
Director: Philippe Garrel
Genre: Drama/Romantic Drama
Language: French
Country: France
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