Clara Et Moi

Arnaud Viard has written and directed a quintessentially French love story that simply has everything going for it. The dialogue is richly imbued with both light hearted comedic elements as well as radiant moments of verismo that make this little story one that, once seen, will be indelible in the memory of the viewer. This is a love story awash with all of the nuances of contemporary life in Paris - and in the entire world.

Antoine (Julien Boisselier) is a thirty-three year old actor, having given up his business career to pursue his dream, yet a young man without a partner. Serendipity strikes on the Metro as Antoine sees a shy woman his age Clara (Julie Gayet) and from the silence surrounding their exchanged looks it is obvious something will happen. Antoine demurely writes a note on his pad and without speaking shows it to Clara. Clara responds with a written message, and the game ends with Clara giving Antoine her telephone number! At a surprise birthday party that evening Antoine, though happy with his close friends' display of love for him, thinks only of the beautiful Clara and that he calls her. They begin a sweet and musical romance, literally singing and dancing along the Seine: they fall in love. Feeling commitment coming, the two decide to be tested for HIV (contemporary sanity is still part of the picture) and Clara discovers she is HIV positive. Antoine cannot deal with this fact and decides they cannot go on. A trip home for Antoine gives him the input from his surgeon father (Michel Aumont) and this meaningful communication between father and son reinforces the fact that despite all circumstances, he truly and deeply loves Clara. He returns to Paris to ask Clara's forgiveness, to reconcile - but life is as it is and the film's ending will touch the hearts of even the coldest of viewers.

This is an honest recounting of the magic of being in love and living in the world in which we find ourselves. The supporting cast is outstanding with every minor role played with honesty and simplicity. But it is the sheer magic on the parts of the leads that makes this film miraculous. Julie Gayet is not only incredibly beautiful, she is also am extraordinary actress, taking us with her through every subtle change in her journey. And the same can be said for Julien Boisselier - handsome in the French manner, with a face so plastic that every particle of emotion he tries so desperately to conceal is given to us, intensifying his performance and making us feel his joys and his wounds.

Arnaud Viard is a chemist with words and with silences, a conjuror who knows just how much to say and ask of his actors to give us a film that is perfect in every detail. The magnificent music score is by Benjamin Biolay with assistance from Bertrand Burgalat and Franz Schubert (`Fantasia for piano four hands'). Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, June 06

and where you are in life. this move is heartbreaking. because its about a burgeoning love that faces what so many of us see as an insurmountable obstacle. antoine (beautiful) falls in love with clara (more beautiful), but its clear early on that antoine has issues with selfishness. its no wonder then when they find out that clara is hiv positive, he rejects her. in the months that ensue, he pines for her. how could he not. its clara. his dream woman. she is the most amazing woman that he could ever want to have and to love. and he cant let go of her illness. it asks of the viewer: how do you view this illness? do you think that it damages a persons value. this is why i titled this post as i have. its very easy to determine that you would do one thing or another if you are not faced with this situation. one cannot help but understand antoines fears: will i lose her, will i contract this disease too, will she get sicker and suffer before my eyes, rendering me helpless. will i fall even more in love with her, only one day to never see her again because she will be gone forever. this illness has taken the lives of so many, and many of whom are still living. this movie asks of you to question your values. no one can say what they would do in this situation. and the mind and fear can obscure what the heart feels. it can convince you to run when you should stay. it can convince you to forget when you know that its impossible. in the end antoine does come around. but its too late. and then you are left wondering, is clara wrong and close-minded for not forgiving him just as he was for rejecting her?

An ardent Francophile of late, I stumbled on this French movie on Amazon Prime fully intending to continue surfing if it didn't shape up in the first few minutes. Despite the unimaginative title, it hooked me from the beginning and held me throughout. A beautifully acted and tender love story in which there are no villains. It is a quintessentially French version of America's "Love Story", but in the age of HIV. Like Jennie, the female lead in "Love Story", Clara gives a hauntingly sad and wistful performance that leaves you thinking about what true love means and the price it sometimes demands.