So I will be the first to admit that I am not as discerning as I should be when it comes to romantic movies. Call me a sap, but if there's a semblance of romance, you can usually get me to watch a movie. However, for some reason I am still extraordinarily reluctant to watch independent stories about relationships. Perhaps it's because so may independent movies seem to end up unhappily, or deal with unhappy people who meet unhappy ends, and never will be happy...ever. They try to deal with reality so much, that sometimes they miss it. Of course on the other hand, you have movies like Twilight. Enough said.
In the days where Hollywood caters to teen angst and middle-aged romantic depression by inventing grand epics of selfish people (or vampires) acting selfishly, it is hard to find romances that mean anything, or have any relation to actual experiences anymore. I am always wary of independent movies about relationships-often they make me never want to be in a relationship ever. Therefore, I was kind of hesitant to see the film "Broken English" by Zoe Cassavetes. Of course, with the talent in her family, I should have foreseen that her film would be amazing. However, this movie, starring Parker Posey, turned into a rainy day movie--one that I would watch when I didn't feel like anything else, or had extra time.
Well, as it turns out, tonight was the perfect time for a rainy day movie. Even during the credits, I was apprehensive. The music, along with visuals of Nora (Posey) getting ready for a big night had me certain that this was all a trick--that she was really getting ready to off herself because she couldn't find a boyfriend, or something silly. However, the movie progressed, and we get a pretty clear picture of her life. Boring, but not horrible. The days go by, with not much to mark the difference. I am sure that we have all been there in life. She goes through several unsuccessful dates, and finally, decides to go to a party that she doesn't really want to. This is where she meets Julian--a young Frenchman in town for a brief time. While she is nervous about forming an attachment, they are soon getting hot and heavy, and the movie progresses, slowly still, as real life would.
I don't want to give away too much about the movie, because I think that it is wonderful. Suffice it to say, it reminded me of real life very much. Even pitted against other movies that seem realistic, this movie feels like real life. The pacing of it is brilliant. The people that she meets, the men she dates, all seem like people who you have met before. There is a truth about the European characters even, that is often lacking in other films. They are not all knowing, wise-cracking people who laugh at silly tourists, or know everything about them. Having lived with a French guy for a year, I found the French people portrayed in the film, especially the main character, very life-like, instead of caricatures that usually make their way into films. You never know quite what Julian (played beautifully by Melvil Poupaud) is thinking. You're not sure how into Nora he is, what his intentions are--especially after the film gives you examples of men with problems earlier. The long silences as the camera holds on him as Nora and he are together, and she is talking, are almost unreadable. It felt very much like a date or two that I have been on. It is only infrequently that the audience gets glimpses into his own psyche and insecurities, and these moments are almost as much of a revelation to us as to Nora.
Parker Posey plays Nora beautifully as a woman who feels like she's aging, and perhaps her life is passing her by. She's not miserable, but neither is she happy. She just is existing (also a frame of mind I think some of us can relate to)--wanting something special to happen to her love life. There is a great point in the movie about wanting to be with someone so you won't be alone, and wanting to be with someone because you want something special, and I thought that this moment was also brilliantly done. It helps that there is also a contrast in her friend, who seems to be the other type of person, the one who doesn't want to be alone, and that is the only reason that she is married.
This movie is so good because it is so normal. It is slow paced, and has moments of disappointment for Nora, but what I like most about it is that there is a sense of hope about it that is essential in life if you are to have any sort of happiness. Hope for Nora, and hope for the audience. Because really, the reason why those independent downers fail in my eyes, is that there is no hope for a brighter future. And if you don't have hope, then what's the point? "Broken English" was a beautiful change, and a movie that is well worth watching, and I recommend that you see it right now.
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