Je vais te manquer (2009) Online

Some films remind you of so many other movies that it's hard to begin typing them... This one could be a French version of "Love Actually", that masterful "comedy of airports". "josymontmartre-1" is right about everything, the trivial plot, the clichés, the stereotyped characters. But nevertheless I liked it :)! Sorry intelligentsia, one can enjoy "popcorn" films when they're well made, and this is just that.

Three favourite scenes you may like: beautiful shot at the Canadian lake of Carole Bouquet, Max analyzing himself on his own couch (he's a shrink), and Fanny's confessions on the public bathroom with the toilet lady. The contrast between her formal attire, her wish to please, and the tiny walls with graffiti is well crafted.

Carole Bouquet's catty and so otherwordly beauty could heighten ANY movie, in here she's "Julia", a violinist with two very disparate daughters, bourgeois Ornella (Mélanie Thierry, from "La princesse de Montpensier") and Anna, leading a completely different life, and of course, disliking each other until ... By the way, the usage of pop songs in this film is terrific.

Pierre Arditti's performance is the hidden gem of this movie. We've seen him on MANY films, but here it's fabulous to watch his transformation from a Parisian writer, neurotic, narcissistic and abusing to a charming "drageur". Of course, he's seen Julia :)!

Alexandra London's "Maria", her long-suffering maid, is probably in love with him, but he trashes her and throws the food she just cooked as his routine, just before asking for fast food/ Chinese by phone (he knows the menu's codes by heart). This is obviously is the only contact with the outside world he has, besides his editor, also despised by this "Author" of course.

Michel Londsdale is also one of those famous great actors that could lift any movie. I'd have liked more screen time to his romance with Fanny Pelletier. I liked her close relationship with André, the hairdresser, a funny "comic relief", but also touching. Like the glimpse of her house, pink walls, and teenage decor, while she says: "I've always been a child", to which Andre replies: "That's the problem", knowingly, before making her the best present she could have.

We've seen them before making similar roles, but, a bit like friends who may be telling you the same old story, but you hear them with interest, because you always find something new in the old, you'll enjoy watching this two hot actors here. Bombshell Anne Marivin, yes, from the French blockbuster "Welcome to the Sticks" is a naive fresh young woman who's a bit lost in the world, emotional, alone. Patrick Mille, the gay friend (JP) from the TV series Clara Scheller, is here also a sensitive dad, always with the perfect attitude to his little daughter, played to perfection by "Clara Barbosa". It's rare to find a child actor play so naturally, so watch out for this girl.

Then we have Lila's 3 super friends, from which Nathalie Richard (from the fabulous 3 femmes... TV series) stands out.

This is "Amanda Sthers" 's first movie, which she also wrote, and already shows her as an able "summoner of talents". I only hope to watch more of her films.

Summing up, I'll quote an IMDb reviewer, John 575 from Australia: "attractive to the eye, ear and soul". Régis Blondeau's great cinematography can be admired from the nice beginning when Julia is looking at a beautiful if blue Paris but can only see a colorful image of two children, probably her own, with a tinge of nostalgia. "Sinclair"s music also creates ambiance.

Enjoy it!

PS: To this same IMDb reviewer : Who is / How can you be so sure about "one gay son"? I mean, Olivier, the perfect father and book editor, if you've seen the whole movie, well.. Can't say more but, I just don't see it. Readers can comment of course :)!

I didn't expect much of this movie, whose premises are in itself the biggest cliché of "French auteur quality cinema" from these last few years : a roundabout of characters whose destinies intertwine on one given day, the day their fate will probably change forever (tadaaaa !). Most of the film taking place in an airport, of course, because in case you didn't know, airports are the place where people always reveal to themselves. And so here we go : life, love, death and all this sort of very important matters are being dealt with, in this ridiculous, tedious and over caricatural pattern of a "chick flick".

Everybody's been called, everybody's there. That is every living cliché & every possible approximation of a character : - the obnoxious and angry writer whose only daily duty is to check if his books are being sold in airports and railway stations (but he hides a heart of gold, of course) - the very old couple once separated by life, who meet again after 40 years thanks to the Internet (but they don't know how they look like now... seems they don't really know how to use the Internet after all) - the racist cop who hunts political refugees (only because he can't face the fact that his fiancée has left him, sob sob) - the cute teacher who quits everything to rebuild a new life in Canada (land of promises for the French) and finds Prince Charming right at the airport after making an announcement on the airport loudspeakers (now that is VERY realistic) - the beautiful but dying (but beautiful still) woman who has given up on life (last sequence with her is an absolute must see)...

Let's not forget one gay son and one lesbian daughter (quotas are what they are), one cute little girl, one sad and hungry refugee who discovers the Arc de Triomphe in awe...

Not one single scene, not one single sequence looks genuine, authentic, or just even merely realistic. Everything is fake. Fake feelings, fake situations, fake acting. But true uninspired, bourgeois, chick flick film-making.

Claude Lelouch, come back, they've all gone mad !

Like a busy airport, modern lives move at the speed of light. Six characters are examined closely in this light comedy that was shown recently on a French international channel. The film marks the directorial debut of Amanda Sthers, who has written for the theater. It is a comedy that was probably targeted for audiences seeking a pleasant time at the theater.

We meet Julia, a violinist, coming out of a pharmacy where she has gotten a prescription filled with a medicine to treat her cancer. By all indications she is far from being terminal, and yet, she wants to escape France to find refuge in a rural setting in Canada where she feels at ease in her bucolic surroundings. She has two daughters, one is expecting and the other is a lesbian working at a bar.

Meeting Marcel Hanri, a writer, arranging his own books to be in the front of all categories in the stands, is too much for Julia to watch. Recognizing him, she asks him to recommend a novel to read during her trip. Sadly, they part after they share some intimate moments at the cafe. She is leaving for an uncertain future while Marcel, who is experiencing writer's block, feels inspired by their meeting. Had Julia stayed behind, would they have had a chance? One wonders.

The other situation belongs to Max, a psychiatrist, who longs to be reunited with his long lost love, Fanny, who is on her way to Paris to meet him. Both are past their prime, but there seems to be a powerful attraction between them, even at this stage of their lives. Fanny has second thoughts about the meeting once she arrives.

The third encounter involves Lila, a school teacher for toddlers, now on her way to Canada where she decides to try her fortune. Marcel, a book editor, seeing his young daughter, who is flying as an unaccompanied minor, has some nice time with the girl. Marcel was asked to wear one of the pouches young children wear around their necks. Seeing her off, he catches Lila's eyes. She likes what she sees. In a hilarious scene, Lila makes a public announcement asking to meet the stranger.

Multiple events are at the root of this film, which is made better by its solid cast. The gorgeous Carole Bouquet is seen as the melancholic Julia, saying good bye to her past and the life she had in France. We all feel her pain as she wants to spend whatever time she has alone, sparing her daughters the pain of watching her fade. Pierre Arditi is excellent, as usual with his Marcel. He is a man who can do better, but has been stuck in a rut, writing things he did not feel.

Michael Lonsdale is Max, the shrink, with an unfinished history of his own. It is a treat to watch this great actor get ready to meet the love of this life. Monique Chaumette's Fanny is more reserved once she decided to agreeing to meet Max, perhaps doubting their future together. The sunny Anne Marivin has some tender moments in the film. Patrick Mille is the subject of her interest.

The film is fast. Shot in great parts at the international airport, the film catches people as they are. Regis Blondeau photographed the production in vivid colors. The music is by Keren Ann.

As an Australian reviewing a French film with English sub-titles screening at the 21st French Film festival in Australia in Mar 2010 it's apparent my review is going to be vastly different to the first one here. 2nd film of the festival of 43 films think have found my favourite film for this year. My biggest question is where have this body of actors been hiding/been hidden?

Carole Bouquet as Julia the mother, tall, elegant, easy on the eye, shift over Charlotte Rampling. Pierre Arditi as the author.. what a character. Looking back I've seen him earlier in "Private Fears in Public Places" and a real 2004 favourite "The First time I turned 20" But they must have been minor parts with less attractive characters and certainly characters with less to say. Here he dominates the screen, charming one minute, cutting the next (I wonder who played his maid in this film)

Anne Marivin playing the blonde lonely heart 30s unable to have children moving to Canada was also in "Welcome to the Sticks" She looks a bit like a french Kylie Minogue. Her's is the sort of part perhaps a Cameron Diaz would play elsewhere. Patrick Mille who plays Oliver the separated father with the very cute 7 or 8 year old daughter. Look as I might I cannot find the name of the actress who played his daughter. Pictures yes but not a name. His character here reminds me of Alan from Two and Half Men.

The only name I could really recognize here was Cecile Cassel surely the sister of Vincent. She plays Anna the lesbian (or was it the confused) daughter of Julia. I really liked Melanie Thierry the pregnant daughter of Julia, driver of the AUDI and sister of Anna. Then there is Anne Marvins 4 friends in the film.

Rich, colourful settings, a film with a lot of dialogue, great camera work, attractive to the eye, ear and soul. All checked. People taking risks on romance, offers and counter offers, change. We see the author start to write again.. I wonder if his life diary slipped into the little girls backpack on the plane by Julia makes its way back to her editor father in France?

A combination of great writing, smart stylish location, the right theme if you like people and romance and fate entwined make this an extremely enjoyable 95 mins. There's a touch of "Italian for Beginners" and certainly at times "You'll miss me" climbs the Mount Everest of romantic /romantic comedy genre.

For me I'll miss the characters of "You'll miss me" They could happily spin off a few sequels here and I'd be lining up for more. Surely for many of the cast this ensemble piece is their finest hour and writer director Amanda Sthers has made her mark and is one to watch. I wonder how many words there is in this script. It's certainly wordy but for those of us who like romance it's music to the ears.

Year in, year out we see Depardieu, Rampling, Auteuil, Dussollier and way too much Jean Pierr Darroussin (some of whom must be directors favourites). Of course personal favourites like any of the Seigners and the Frots we cannot get enough of. Some years we are flooded by Cecile France, this year it's Vincent Lindon.

It's a real eye opener for an outsider/non resident of France to see "You'll miss me" and to see all these actors who must be otherwise normally engaged in television or earlier minor parts rise to the top. Performance wise and character wise what an engaging lot they are!

For some additional stills from the film http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=126895.html