Avec amour et acharnement
Claire Denis, France, UK, 2022o
Jean and Sara have been living together for 10 years. When they first met, Sara was living with François, Jean’s best friend. One day, Sara sees François in the street. He does not notice her, but she is overtaken by the sensation that her life could suddenly change. François gets back in touch with Jean for the first time in years. He suggests they start working together again. From here on, things spiral out of control.
Sarah (Juliette Binoche) and Jean (Vincent Lindon) have been together for ten years, a happy and well-adjusted couple. They assure each other of their love almost daily. When Sarah's former lover (woh is also Jean's former business partner) re-enters her life after a long absence, these verbal expressions of affection become even more insistent, which is as striking as it is suspicious. "The past is not dead; it is not even past" is a famous Faulkner quote. The relationship and love triangle story narrated by Claire Denis and co-written with French author Christine Angot, which won the Silver Bear in Berlin 2022, seems simple, almost old-fashioned, if it weren't for the fact that such fundamental themes as love, jealousy and (self-)lies can never lose their relevance at all. Especially not when they are staged with so much psychological flair, a well-rehearsed ensemble of actors, but also cleverly placed narrative blanks. Avec amour et acharnement proves once again that credibly told love dramas belong to the DNA of French cinema.
Till BrockmannSe jouant des notions de cinéma bourgeois ou d’auteur, des codes et des attentes, quitte à exagérer et à en exaspérer certains, par une cinéaste casse-cou et sans concessions, prenant ici, peut-être plus encore que dans High Life, de réels risques pour dresser son protocole passionnel de la manière la plus juste et vibrante qui soit.
Jérôme d’EstaisGalleryo
