Quelques jours en septembre

Before the review, a question and a note:

1) If I sent Unifrance a really nice email, do you think they'd offer to host me in Paris, along with Piers and Noah?

2) This review could be influenced by the fact that the stunningly beautiful Juliette Binoche walked past me within a distance of a mere two feet, thus making my night and possibly my festival.

As for the film, it's quite good. As Sarah indicated, there are similarities to the Third Man, in that the retired spy played by Binoche, a young French woman, and a young American, are all brought together by the father figure (natural to the young woman, step to the young man, thus ensuring that the subsequent romantic dalliance between the two isn't technically incest) who is unseen throughout most of the film. They are pursued through Paris and Venice by a disturbed hitman/agent, played with the usual off-kilter gusto by John Turturro, who appears to want to kill the father. The film marks the days leading up to September 11th, and there are hints that father is calling them all together because he knows what's about to happen in the United States.

To its credit, the film doesn't dwell on conspiracies or try to insert itself too deeply into the tragic events of that day, but instead focuses much of its attention on the relationship between the three characters, their feelings for the absent father, and the way in which they overcome their initial impressions of one another. Geopolitical considerations give way to interpersonal dynamics, amidst the gorgeous backdrop of a sunny Venetian skylines, and the movie finds a nice rhythm as the characters alternately bicker and flirt with one another.

It wasn't surprising to learn that the first time filmmaker is a novelist. The story has the feel and structure of a good paperback thriller. Here I'll disagree with with Sarah's assessment, though. I do think that the writer/director knows how to end it, and ties up all the plot elements quite well. The problem is that in doing so, the story loses some of the authenticity, as characters then have to conform to a standard set of reactions which play themselves out quite conventionally. The plot is resolved to satisfaction, but lacks some of the genuine emotion of earlier scenes.

Still, it's an entertaining film, with some very quirky touches. The Turturro character's frequent calls to his psychoanalyst, and the ringtone on his cellphone, are hilarious, as is his, for some reason, his surprisingly competent French. Binoche's Irene takes all the threats to her life and guns pointed in her face in stride, as if midly amused by the absurdity of it all and yet manages to pull off this unexpected levity with a cool assurance. [Did I mention that she's gorgeous? Even with the bleach blond hair, which I assume is for a role]. And the two young people, played by Sara Forestier and Tom Riley, capture loathing and wide-eyed optimism in with credibility and poise.

My only question: what happens to the turtle?