Made on a modest budget this is a brave film from writer-director-star Jacques Nolot who brings an unflinching honesty to his performance.
Comment
04/21/09
Before I Forget (2008)
86
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:25
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.7/10
Australian Theatrical Release:
Feb 19, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: The third in a trilogy of semi-autobiographical films by writer-director Jacques Nolot (PORN THEATER), BEFORE I FORGET is a harsh and darkly deadpan character study at the intersection of aging,... [More]
Starring: Jacques Nolot, Jean-Pol Dubois, Marc Rioufol, Bastien d'Asnieres
Director: Jacques Nolot
Reviews for Before I Forget
Writer-director-actor Jacques Nolot (below) delivers a bold, searching and open-hearted turn as the subject of this confessional study of life as an elderly gay gent in the French capital.
04/17/09
A sombre description of age and regret delivered with a deceptively light touch. Wry, tender, full of sympathy and wonderfully acted by Jacques Nolot.
04/17/09
Tortuously slow but unexpectedly charming.
04/17/09
Top CriticBefore I Forget turns out to be pretty watchable, if sobering, with a fine eye for the absurdities its situations generate.
04/17/09
Top CriticIt's a subdued, somewhat melancholic Paris to be sure, but one whose potential loneliness is softened by the intriguing support networks the characters improvise.
04/17/09
Geriatrically paced but genuinely compassionate, Before I Forget introduces a world of ageing bodies, fading libidos and lives spent in thrall to fleeting pleasures.
04/17/09
Any film that boasts two jokes about Roland Barthes and one scene – surreal, deadpan, inspired – of superannuated cross-dressing will take its place, for some, near the front of the must-see queue.
04/17/09
It doesn't add up to much as a story, but as an account of a demi-monde defiant in its loucheness and loneliness it has its moments of odd grace.
04/17/09
It has the merit of drawing you into this depressing world with stoic realism. It’s not, however, a bundle of fun to watch.
04/17/09
A quietly contemplative film about a man looking back on his life, this funny and heartbreaking film features several surprising twists that make it well worth a look.
04/17/09
an intense character study
10/02/08
The visuals are stunning, as is the use of music...unforgettable.
08/04/08
[Jacques] Nolot, in his actor's hat, creates a melancholy, often-sad character that I grew to have a great deal of empathy for.
08/04/08
Before I Forget is a film one can admire, but it is not 'likable,' per se, nor does its director wish it to be.
08/01/08
[A] strikingly different and oddly funny French drama about a 60-year-old former hustler-turned-writer whose later years aren't exactly golden.
07/18/08
Before I Forget is, in the broad sense, 'gay-themed'. But it's also one of the loveliest, most direct and most devastating pictures about aging that I've ever seen.
07/18/08
Not a lot of ground is covered, but that might just be the point. The end of days are near, and the film is the interim itself, watching a man wind down ever so slowly while trying for a few last gasps to stave it off.
07/18/08
An unblinking portrait of a complicated, solitary gay man who has outlived his working years.
07/18/08
Top CriticWith verbose and eloquent characters (let alone the fog of cigarette smoke), Before I Forget won't easily shake off the label of a "French film," and all that that implies.
07/18/08
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