"Il y a Longtemps que Je T'aime" is a French film with a similarly long English title "I've Loved You So Long." I watched this movie because it resurrected the career of an actress whom I have admired, but not heard from since "The English Patient." That actress is Kristin Scott Thomas, who was nominated for Best Actress in the last Golden Globe awards for this film.
I watched this film with no preconceived notions whatsoever about what it was about. I even thought this would be a romance. I did not anticipate the very heavy subject matter at all. Actually, the movie itself was also very slow in telling us what it was all about. Given the maudlin plot, I believe that this was the best way to slowly bring us in, without repelling us in the get go.
I found it interesting though that the book, screenplay and direction were all by one person, Philippe Claudel. I liked the naturalness of the acting of Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein, who played her sister. They acted and even looked like real sisters. It was like watching a documentary with real people, not actors. Without giving too much away, I can only say that this movie is about coming out of a long stretch in prison still haunted by the ghosts of the past, and trying to reconnect with family and society. There was a medical aspect to this drama since Kristin's character Juliette is a doctor.
I have to say though that I already felt I knew the ending midway through this 2-hour film. I was actually hoping that it would twist somewhere else, but it turned out exactly like I predicted. While the movie as a whole is well made, it is my opinion that the motivations behind the decisions of the main character were just too unbelievable to support the basic premise of the whole movie, especially given the apparent closeness of their family. And I this is where the movie sort of falters for me. But then again if she made the rational decision which most of us would make in her situation, there would not be an interesting movie, would it?
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