Movie Review 2 Days in Paris

2 Days in Paris (2007) 

Directed by Julie Delpy 

Written by Julie Delpy 

Starring Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Daniel Bruhl 

Release Date May 17th, 2007 

Published May 17th, 2007 

Julie Delpy, so enchanting opposite Ethan Hawke in Richard Linklater's indelible double feature Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, brings that Linklater influence to her directorial debut 2 Days In Paris. No Sunrise/Sunset clone is this. 2 Days In Paris is similar in theme and content to her influences, but the characters she has created for herself and Adam Goldberg are wholly her own. Smart, funny, sexy and very French 2 Days In Paris unfolds the realistic twists and turns of a couple under the strain of a two year, where is this thing headed, relationship and a cross Europe vacation that concludes with a visit to Paris and a meet the parents situation unlike anything you've ever experienced, I would hope.

Marion (Julie Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg) have been together two years and though they seem happy where they are, a couple can't be together two years without talk of the future looming overhead. They have spent the past two weeks all over Italy on what was supposed to be a romantic vacation. It has been romantic, occasionally, but Jack has been sick and Marion has been looking ahead to her visit home to Paris. They are laying over two days in Marion's old apartment, she keeps it though they live together in New York.

While there Jack will meet Marion's parents, Anna (Marie Pillet) and Jeannot (Albert Delpy, Julie's real father). Meeting the parents is always awkward but when you literally don't speak the language it can be interminable. Then there are Marion's friends, mostly men, some of them ex's. Naturally Jack is a little insecure and these being French men things get a little more uncomfortable, talk of sex is more open and every conversation is rich with flirtation and entirely in French. That language, so romantic sounding that even the most innocuous compliment sounds like poetry.

All of the strain of a foreign vacation, Marion's parents, Marion's past and Jack's insecurities finally comes to a head and we get scenes of exceptionally smart and wrenching dialogue between two people who communicate a depth and history to their relationship without having to explain it. The tiny jokes, the offhand insults, the little things that make a life between two people are the things that director Julie Delpy captures so beautifully. When we arrive at the more difficult conversations, the tough moments, we are not taking sides, rather we are invested in both characters and this relationship as if we had something at stake in them being together. That is exceptional work.

Adam Goldberg is an actor that can be difficult to take. His characters are all the same, neurotic, New Yorkers, constantly angst ridden and on the edge of an angry explosion. In 2 Days in Paris, as familiar as this character is, there is a little more nuance to it. Goldberg is more in control of his tics and mannerisms here than I've seen him before. He's a little more emotional and in touch with his feelings and though he still has that sarcastic armor that is his calling card, it's part of a richer character. As put off by his act as I'm sure some of you are, you will find it fits this character well.

As for the actress Julie Delpy, she is typically magnificent. I'm sure Ms. Delpy has made some bad movies but when she in her element, romance, France, she is ethereal. This character is more complicated and screwed up than the romantic heroine of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset so she must find different ways of getting us to root for her and somehow, even after some major meltdowns and questionable decisions we root for her and wish for her. It's a terrific performance made all the more impressive because she was directing herself.

Talky, provocative, smart and very funny, 2 Days In Paris is one of the movies I wish I would have seen before I listed my best movies of the year. It is that good. The influence of Richard Linklater has done well for Julie Delpy but 2 Days In Paris is her baby and it is quite beautiful. It is soon to be on DVD and you must check it out.

Movie Review Goodbye Lenin

Goodbye Lenin! (2003) 

Directed by Wolfgang Becker

Written by Wolfgang Becker 

Starring Daniel Bruhl, Katrin Sass, Alexander Beyer

Release Date February 13th, 2003 

Published July 18th, 2004 

Imagine a staunch Democrat who falls into a coma shortly after seeing Al Gore win Florida and be pronounced the next President of the United States. That person awakens months later not knowing the election was disputed and that somehow George W. Bush is President and you can't tell them because the slightest shock could kill them. That might make an interesting American version of the German film Goodbye Lenin! in which a staunch communist falls into a coma right before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.

Daniel Bruhl stars as Alex Kerner, the loyal, devoted son of Christiane (Katrin Sass) a party loyalist in 1980's East Berlin. Christiane is completely devoted to the state and has involved her children, Alex and sister Ariane (Maria Simon), in state activities. For Christiane, love of country replaced the love of her husband who escaped to the west years earlier.

As East Germany was beginning to see more and more uprising against the state, Christiane herself is attending state dinners honoring party leaders. It is on her way to a party function that she sees her son beaten by police for marching in a freedom parade. The sight causes Christiane to have a heart attack and fall into a coma. For eight months as Alex visited daily, Christiane slept through her country’s most historic changes. The wall falls, Germany is reunited, and communism is defeated.

However, because Christiane's condition is so fragile her doctors want Alex to slowly reveal these changes so as not to excite her. Alex feels she should not be told at all and thus conceives a massive lie that East Germany never fell and that communists still hold power. There are other changes to deal with as well that cannot be covered up. Alex's sister has a baby and a live in boyfriend Rainer (Alexander Beyer) and Alex himself has fallen in love with a nurse named Lara (Chulpan Khamatova).

I found the idea of Alex keeping these historic changes a secret from his mother to be almost cruel but as the film goes on and the lies become more intricate and elaborate you begin to sympathize with Alex. While you may not understand the lengths he goes to extend his lies, you can't help but feel for him. That has much to with Daniel Bruhl whose quiet demeanor and sensitive stare ease the sharp edges of Alex's misguided determination.

The premise sounds almost farcical but director Wolfgang Becker and writer Bernd Lichtenberg do not play the story for laughs. There is some comedy but the laughs are a natural outgrowth of the story and not forced. The mood of the picture is at times somber and yet you can't help but get caught up in these characters and this story. It also helps to have such a terrific supporting cast headed up by Katrin Sass who's dignified devotion to her beliefs really makes you believe the fall of the Berlin Wall could kill her.

I drew a correlation to start this review as to what an American version of this movie might be like but in reality, I don't believe it would work. This is a story very of its time and place. East Germany as it was just before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall is a character in this film and a necessary one. I would be very interested to hear a German perspective of this film, to hear it from someone who experienced this remarkable change and could compare it with this movie would be fascinating. Even still as an American, I can appreciate a good movie and Goodbye Lenin! is a very good movie.