Beloved 2011

     Madeleine works at a high-fashion shoe store in Paris of the 60’s, she loves the shoes and she takes a pair of high heels.  Out on the street she is mistaken for a streetwalker.  She meets Jaromil, he is a customer, doctor and native of Czechoslovakia taking classes in Paris.  She follows him the Prague, they marry and have a daughter, Vera.  When the Russians invade Prague, she to returns to Paris with Vera and without Jaromil.  They divorce and she marries again.  Her adult daughter Vera looks back on the lives of her parents both with regret and romanticism.  Vera is unable to commit to a relationship, she has an on-off boyfriend but obsesses over a gay musician.

     There are a LOT of problems with this film!  Too long, spans from 1968 to the near present and alternates between the characters singing/reciting 60’s pop tunes and heavy drama?  I could not pay attention during the odd singing scenes.  2 ½* (This movie is so-so) 

 

139 min, Drama directed by Christophe Honore with Chiara Mastrianni, Catherine Deneuve, Ludivine Sagnier, Louis Garrel, Rasha Bukvic, Paul Schneider.

Note:  Blockbuster 2 ½*, imdb 5.9 out of 10, 55% critic 47% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.  

Special Note:  Chiara Mastroianni is Catherine Deneuve’s real daughter.  Her father is Marcello Mastroianni.