Love Me If You Dare

I saw a preview of `Love Me If You Dare' while I was about to watch another flick with two girl friends, and it was so compelling that I immediately stopped watching that movie to hunt for Love Me If You Dare in local movie stores. This movie did not disappoint our expectations; this movie is easily my second favorite movie of all time (next to Almost Famous) and my favorite romance movie of all time. I show it to every friend or acquaintance at every possible opportunity; I've bought roughly six copies of this DVD and given four of them out. The love relationship of Julien and Sophie is passionate, intense, and destructive, but in the end it is very touching. Growing up together, they form a true bond of friendship in a chaotic atmosphere. They are broken and haphazard with their emotions, which bring this movie together in a perfect way to relate that love is not chic; the stars rarely align to form that perfect attraction-to-relationship time span that encompasses all of two weeks. Julien and Sophie's love takes years, and that's where the true beauty sets in. The end of this movie will cause disarray and contemplation on its meaning, leaving open to interpretation to yourself and amongst friends what eternal love is all about and the fates of Julien and Sophie. Not everyone will agree or like the ending, but I encourage you to give it a second and third watch; each time I see this movie, I come to different conclusions about life, love, and relationships. This is what makes Love Me If You Dare such a spectacular movie.

Excellent item! Just as described.

Not like any other film that I know of, though there is a little of the feeling of films like The Tin Drum and Eric Rohmer's films - different as these are. It's both light and dark, funny, sad, full of twists, and true. It's a romantic comedy for the damned. The lead characters are addicted to their "game"... an emotional truth or dare where they always pick the dare. I love these characters even though they're cruel to each other and sacrifice all others to their addiction. I don't typically like dark comedies, but this is a deeply romantic film - dark, but also light. Ultimately, it's a kind of parable - you'll be disappointed if you try to read it literally. I found this film when searching for the composer who wrote the heart-swelling score for Joyeux Noel (2005), Philippe Rombi, but as many time as I've watched "Jeux d'enfants" (the original title of Love Me If You Dare - "Children's Games"), intending to listen for the soundtrack, I get caught up in the film and realize I still haven't "heard" it by the end.

The first feature from French director Yann Samuell is an "expressionistic" allegory about love, disguised as a romantic fantasy. It is about how in our relationships we never outgrow childhood games or fully recover from insecurities caused by deep childhood wounds. It is about how people in love constantly test each other. Each dare is a renewed demand for the other person to prove their love, no matter what the sacrifice. "Love Me If You Dare" is a gimmick translation of "Jeux d'enfants", a better translation would be "Games of Children". But given the general confusion about this film by English speaking viewers and critics the inaccurate title is probably appropriate. Film Theory 101 would include a discussion of the two basic film extremes, realism and expressionism. Generally the closer a film comes to reproducing reality, the less room there is for the filmmaker to express his artistry. Which is not to say that realism is necessarily less manipulative than expressionism, both aim to affect their viewing audience, expressionism is just less constrained. When you are used to a steady diet of Hollywood realism, it is difficult to switch gears and watch a film like "Jeux d'enfants" without attempting to force it into the realism mold. The temptation is to gloss over the surreal elements and to take everything you see literally. But Samuell has a background as an illustrator and designer. Note the inventive visuals that employ a multitude of cardboard cutouts and idyllic fantasy settings. This is expressionism. Note the accelerated action segments and strange transitions. This is expressionism. Note the interesting time passage montages and flashbacks. While you sometimes see similar stuff incorporated into a realistic film, it is explained away as a dream, hallucination, or memory. Here it is a tip-off that this is a surreal allegory like Bunuel's "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie". If you avoid taking "Jeux d'enfants" too literally, stop being judgmental about the actions and motivations of its characters, and focus instead on picking up its allegorical elements you will probably understand it better and enjoy it more. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

One of my faves

Oh, mon Dieu, what a surprise! So unique! Do not approach this film expecting hard reality--it will ensnare your mind and twist your heart. The early scenes in childhood were a delight; the premise of the "game" played over decades by the two lovers became engrossingly real; lighter comic undertones contrasted with a love whose playfulness and elation and confusion and pain was palpable (lead actors Canet and Cotillard later became unmarried partners); and love's "collateral damage" to people outside the relationship was not overlooked. The film truly bends the usual concept of genres, and (in addition to top-notch acting) that's what makes it so unexpectedly captivating. It was a day or two after I watched this movie before I realized how much there was to it. It's one of the few films I would watch more than once, and it may grow into one of my favorites.

Une valeur sûre du cinéma français moderne

The title of my review is only relevant to anyone who has watched the film, so my apologies for that. I wasn't sure about this film before I bought it and half way through it I was wondering if I was going to be disappointed. But once the film finished, and even more so the next day, I was left thinking just what a brilliant film it was - a definite five-stars-out-of-five. The cinematography changes as the story progresses, the childhood of the two main characters was very cleverly photographed. With the "Extras" there is an explanation of how difficult the filming was of some of the scenes shot in the rain. The music is great throughout with many versions of La Vie En Rose heard. Julien and Sophie are the two main characters and are played by six different actors: Thibault Verhaeghe, Guillaume Canet and Robert Willar in the role of Julien; Josephine Lebas Joly, Marion Cotillard and Nathalie Nattier in the role of Sophie. For the majority of the film Julien and Sophie are played by Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard. But all six actors bring something different and very special to their part. The story is quite simple though I won't spoil it by giving it hear, but it is the way that it is told that is so good. I would say that this is definitely a film to watch again, quite the opposite of my initial reservations about it. A short section of "Extras" comes with the DVD: Making of the Dream Sequence; Outtakes; Interview with Yann Samuell, Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet. Throughout the film La Vie En Rose is heard performed by various singers which, for anyone who has or who has not yet seen Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose [DVD ] is an interesting choice of song.

la qualità, la confezione e il materiale contenuto al'interno della scatola è risultato fedele a ciò che veniva pubblicizzato. Peccato che non è possibile cambiar lingua dovendolo vedere obbligatoriamente in Francese. Deluso.

Deux enfants qui jouent à cap ou pas cap ( cap pour je te défie de le faire, capable ou pas ? ) toute leur vie.

Ich bin nicht allgemein ein Fan franzäsischen Kinos, aber diesen Film kann man nur empfehlen. Für das Erstlingswerk eines jungen Regisseurs ungemein professionell, klug und hintergründig. Zum Plot haben hier ja andere schon viel geschrieben. Der Film ist eine moderne "state of the art"-Komödie, schnelle Erzählung, jede Menge jump-cuts, rasante Kameraarbeit, viele Szenen digital bearbeitet und farblich verfremdet. Trotz des hohen Einsatzes moderner Filmtechnik entsteht aber eine sehr anrührende Geschichte, vielleicht auch kitschig, aber wo ist da das Problem? Der Film ist eine Komödie im chaplinesken Stil, also auch tragisch. Die Mutter eines Kindes stirbt an Krebs, eine (zerrissene?)Einwandererfamilie kämpft um Integration, gleich zwei bürgerliche Familien werden getrennt und zerschlagen usw. - Es ist keine schöne und schon gar keine heile Welt, die der Film malt. Und dort hinein werden die zwei Hauptdarsteller gesetzt, die sich weigern, das Leben so wahrzunehmen,wie es ist. Sie erklären es zum Spiel, zu einem ganz eigenen Konkurrenzkampf um die größere Herausforderung für den anderen. Der Zaubertrick ist, dass der Film uns genau in diese Welt des Lebens als Spiel der beiden hineinzieht.Für mich ist die Geschichte der beiden ein Kampf um Nähe, der über Jahrzehnte geht und an dem sie fast scheitern. Mit einer anderen Perspektive des Erzählens hätte es also auch ein soziales Drama werden können. Das liegt auch immer etwas in der Luft, aber das Phänomenale ist, dass der Film über 90 Minuten eine spielerische Leichtigkeit behält und dabei auch seine beiden Figuren ironisiert. Dabei heraus kommt eine luftig leichte Geschichte mit gehörigen Fallstricken; ein sehr wahres und im Ergebnis wunderbares ( im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes)Werk. Mich erinnerte er mehr an Louis Malles "Zazie" als an die viel zitierte "Amelie". Ich denke, Yann Samuel wird mal ein Großer! Nachtrag Januar 2012: Damals wusste noch kaum jemand, wer Marion Cottilard ist.Es war dann aber dieser Film, der sie groß ins Geschäft gebracht hat.Inzwischen hat sie ja ihren ersten Oscar zuhause stehen. Zu Recht.