A tour of Paris, and two peoples' minds.

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2004)

Ultimately, a satisfying little movie; even for a late 50's non-romantic, such as myself. Congratulations to the two principals for carrying the entire movie on the strength of one nonstop dialogue....indeed, I have never seen a movie that even attempted such a premise. Hawke and Delpy actually carry it out. I was tired, and listened to much of the first half of the movie with my eyes closed. Yes, I might have even nodded-off for a few minutes. But the thread of dialogue kept my interest up enough that I had to start watching at about the same time the two were at Notre-Dame Cathedral. Now I know I don't need to see Paris - this movie was the ultimate travelogue of the River Sienne. The shoreline promenade evoked memories of "A Tale of Two Cities" and it's dramatic end. Now that I think about it, I doubt they really had such elaborate concrete work in the days of the French Revolution, only in the Liam Neeson movie of it. Funny, how the setting had such a timeless aspect to it. Anyway, I digress....could they have pulled-off this eighty-five minute conversation (in real time: probably about three hours of relationship time) on a blank sound stage, without the beautiful backdrop of Paris to enhance their every word? Only with your eyes closed.
Strange, that the writers and principals would decide to reprise the original movie, nine years afterward. It works well, and has a very credible feel to it. I suspect that this one will be "an all time favourite" of many a young, sophisticated, and well-educated female; it's niche audience is most certainly in the female dormitories of many a college campus. For them, it is the ultimate "chick flick", for me....I'm just surprised I liked it as much as I did.