Thursday, April 9, 2015

I was really impressed by a French film

Movie Review:
LOL (Laughing Out Loud)
starring Sophie Marceau and Christa Theret


What the movie is about:
LOL? It means "laughing out loud" in text language. It is also the name that Lola's friends have given her. However, when it is time to go back to school after summer break, Lola doesn't feel much like laughing. Arthur, her boyfriend, provokes her by telling her that he cheated on her over the summer. And her gang of pals is very gifted at complicating matters. Just like her mother, Anne, with whom life has become impossible, and not only because she has no idea what LOL means. That her parents have divorced is one thing, but that Anne treats her teenage daughter like a child, by lying to her about basic things - like the fact that she is still seeing her ex-partner on the sly, or that a cop is interested in her - is another. As for Anne, she wonders what on earth has happened to her sweet little daughter. From fusion to confusion, mother-daughter relationships simmer with love and plenty of LOL.
source: uniFrancefilms 

My thoughts:
I am not very easily impressed by movies. Don't get me wrong, if I go to the movies to watch a film there I am usuallypretty quiet after it ended and am trying to form an opinion. I can remember times when I agreed to going out for a drink after a movie and having no recollection of agreeing because I was so deep in thought but usually a film only stays with me for a couple of hours.

This one was different!

French films are not uncommon in Austria and we get them regularly in cinemas and on TV. There is a whole fan base for French films and many people gush about the beauty and the hidden meaning in them. I never got that. For me, French films were slow and often boring (please don't hate me). I often either left the living room or switched off the TV because they didn't interest me at all.

LOL was produced in 2008 by Lisa Azuelos and she also produced the American version of this movie by the same name in 2012. Sophie Marceau stars as the divorced mother of three kids, one of which is Lola a teenage daughter who is desperately trying to find her way in life, makes her first encounters with boys, drugs and alcohol and cannot really deal with the feelings she is having for a good friend who's also her ex-boyfriend's best friend. Lola cannot confide in her mom, even though the two are really close but even Anne is struggling to cope with life after the divorce and with raising a rebelling teen.

LOL is such a calm movie that just tells a story that's really close to the way life feels when you're a teenager and guys are the main thing in your life. It not only shows Lola's struggles with growing up and becoming an adult but also her mum's struggles with letting go of her daughter, coping with her ex-husband and starting to live her own life again.

I never ever thoght that a French film would stay with me even a week after I watched it and if I am honest, I cannot stop thinking about it. It felt so real and raw and was utterly believable.

Maybe I need to rethink my opinion about French films and start watching more...

Here's the movie trailer(French with English subtitles) if you're interested:

1 comment:

  1. I have not seen this, maybe I'll see it someday. Love french movies. Have seen three french movies before. Love me if you dare ( Jeux d'enfants) from 2003. Although it was a little weird end, I liked the movie. Intouchables from 2012. Love that movie, my absolute favorite. And back in 2007 I saw Ensemble, c'est tout or Together, we are less alone. In 2004 I also saw Un long dimanche de fiançailles or A Very Long Engagement. Had forgotten about that last one.

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