uscricump I didn't think I liked French art movies, and I'm not sure I liked this one. But I have to recognize a masterpiece when I see one. This is the most perfect movie I have ever seen (and of course you know I mean "most nearly perfect"). There is not an extra line of dialog, there is not a cutting of the eyes that doesn't mean something. The acting is superb, and learning to play the violin in order to act in this movie was an heroic act.I checked that this review contains spoilers. Although I am trying hard not to provide any specific spoilers, I have to mention that at the end of the movie comes a scene that seems all out of the blue and disconnected with the entire previous footage. But the DVD I had included as an extra an interview with Claude Sautet in which he said, essentially, "Without that scene we would have been unable to complete the movie." To me it is the scene that answers the question, "Who is Stephane?"--although the answer you get and the answer I get to this question may not be exactly the same.This is not my favorite movie, nor do I rank it as a best movie. But it is just about the most perfect movie I have ever seen. It does exactly what Sautet set out to do, assisted admirably by his principal and secondary actors. If you don't like what they set out to do, that is understandable, but I honestly believe that whether you like what they did or not, they couldn't have done it any more perfectly.I didn't think I liked Ravel string music either, but I have changed my mind on that one.

Goodbye_Ruby_Tuesday As with THE SILENCE--and, really, most of Ingmar Bergman's best work--this is a film of quiet grace, a subtle film that takes patience but is ultimately deeply rewarding by the end. It's a love triangle of sorts between two friends, a bachelor Maxime and his quiet friend Stephane who are business partners running a violin repair shop. Maxime begins a relationship with the beautiful violinist Camille, who soon becomes attracted to Stefane, who does not overtly return her advances. Stefane is really a voyeur who belongs in the same group as Harry Caul, L.B. Jeffries and Damiel the angel, all people who are flawed or broken in some way on the inside and feel compelled to look at others only from a distance, refusing to become involved. They seem to understand from behaviorism the depths of other people but can barely conceal their own loneliness or broken relationships--Stefane correctly states that he can never give Camille, or any "normal" woman, what she deserves. He deliberately pushes her away when he feels pressured into intimacy. He loves music and handles his violins (which can be argued are shaped like an ideal female body, revealing Stephane's asexuality) the way Maxime and other "normal" men handle women. Director Claude Sautet has a gift with letting human drama unfold, and he carefully studies the behavior of his characters, who come alive without force or question, so much that the audience feels like a you're listening on close friends fighting. Then a real-life couple, Emmanuel Beart and Daniel Auteuil are stunning (such a great, unique romance for a real-life couple--you couldn't ever imagine Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ever tackling this together), hitting all the right notes (pun intended) with the precision and understanding of great actors, and even better human beings. Auteuil in particular is spectacular because of Stephane's deep introvert nature, and Auteuil has to allude to so many conflicting emotions that are barely visible beneath the surface, and he does so much just with his eyes, which flutter with happiness and fall with regret with perfect grace.

MartinHafer Before I say anything else, I must point out that I love Daniel Auteuil and have seen many of his films. In fact, I look for films with him in it, as I am almost always guaranteed a wonderful film. In this case, he plays against his wife of the time, the radiant Emmanuelle Béart. Now that I have said that, I regret that this is one of the rare cases where I didn't particularly care for the film. Despite there currently being a very glowing review for the film featured on IMDb (giving it, inexplicably, a 10--a score too often overused), I just found the film too slow and uninvolving. Apparently after reviewing more of the comments, people either adored it or disliked it. Auteuil plays a man who is a genius at fine-tuning and repairing violins. He is so good at what he does that he's sought out by people owning the best instruments in the world. The film begins with his business partner introducing Auteuil to his new mistress, Béart. A bit later in the film, Béart falls madly for Auteuil though the motivation for this is seemingly non-existent. That's because Auteuil is a bit of a schizoid personality and he relates much better to things than people. He is someone who is indifferent to friendships and relationships--a person who is pretty much unable or willing to fall in love. So why would she love him? Now it is possible that his actions are all an act and he really is just afraid of being hurt (psychologically speaking, this would make him an Avoidant personality). However, throughout the film there didn't appear to be much evidence of this but avoidants would also be very, very hard to get to know well. In actuality during the film it appeared he just didn't care that the incredibly sexy Béart adored him. So what you have in the film is a lady who on rare occasions throws herself at a man and the man reacts like he's a block of wood. And, considering that this is all done very, very slowly and deliberately, the film seem way too long and uninvolving. Technically, it was a pretty film (with nice music) but that's about all.

krcstudio I first saw this movie in the theater when it was released. I was part of a group that saw movies every Tues and then rated them by number. When we left the theater one of the woman said she would give it a 7 (out of 10) and another said 8, when asked I said a 12! I loved it beginning to end. I had never seen a film that dealt with such a personality. A person closed off from the world by his own decision or thru some backstory we never really know. We see glimpses in his relationship with Maxim and the old music teacher but it is left to our imagination. What we do see is his manipulation of situations and again we are not given the reasons outright. This is an intelligent film for any thoughtful person who cares to examine the complexities of human beings. The music is perfect.