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Movies / Upcoming / I've Loved You So Long
I've Loved You So Long

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I've Loved You So Long (2008)

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Reviews Counted:116

Fresh:104

Rotten:12

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: I've Loved You So Long is a sublimely acted family drama as well as a noteworthy directorial debut from Phillipe Claudel.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Mature themes

Genre: Foreign Films

Australian Theatrical Release:
Dec 26, 2008 Wide

US Box Office: $2,901,744

Synopsis: Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) and Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) are sisters. The film begins with Léa, the younger sister by fifteen years, picking Juliette up at the airport. We soon realize that the... Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) and Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) are sisters. The film begins with Léa, the younger sister by fifteen years, picking Juliette up at the airport. We soon realize that the two sisters are almost complete strangers to each other. Juliette has just been released from prison after serving a long sentence. Léa was still a teenager when Juliette, a doctor, was convicted of the murder of her six-year-old son. Léa contacted Juliette when she was released and suggested that Juliette come to live with her. Juliette had no particular desire to see her sister again.

Luc (Serge Hazanavicius), Léa’s husband, is quite reserved, almost hostile, about Juliette’s presence under their roof. Luc and Léa have two adopted Vietnamese daughters, who are 8 and 3 years old. Luc’s father, Papy Paul (Jean-Claude Arnaud) also lives in the house. He’s a charming old man who spends all of his time reading since a stroke deprived him of the power of speech.

Life together isn’t easy to begin with. Juliette has to relearn certain basics. The world has moved on and she often seems confused. Although she may seem cold and distant, her attitude stems more from her being ill at ease. Helped by some, such as the kindly but tactless social worker and her open-hearted but depressed parole officer (Frédéric Pierrot) whose confidante she becomes, Juliette is also rejected by others, particularly employers who throw her out as soon as they find out what she did.

Léa’s attitude is ambiguous. She avoids talking about Juliette’s terrible crime and time in prison at all costs. She wants nothing to blunt the happiness of their reunion and getting to know each other again. Luc mentions it reproachfully, as does Juliette in a different way.

Gradually, the real Juliette emerges. She opens up to the world once more, thanks to her two nieces, with whom she becomes very close after being very stiff with them at the beginning, and Michel (Laurent Grevill), a friend of Léa’s, and Papy Paul, who, in a more symbolic way, knows what it’s like to be locked away. Juliette gets a job as a medical secretary at the local hospital on the condition that she never mentions she used to be a doctor. Her relationship with Léa becomes much stronger and more intimate. Even Luc succeeds in pushing his preconceptions to one side and seeing Juliette as his sister-in-law, not as a murderer.

But a huge questions hangs over Juliette’s renaissance. Why did she do such a terrible thing fifteen years ago? For all the others, it’s a recurrent thought that they dare not put into words. And for Juliette, locked away in her secret, it’s a burden to bear, which holds her back from engaging in her life and believing that she too has the right to be happy.--© Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill

Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill, Frederic Pierrot

Director: Philippe Claudel

Director: Philippe Claudel
Screenwriter: Philippe Claudel
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Reviews for I've Loved You So Long

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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I've Loved You So Long isn't a perfect movie, thanks to the wrinkle at the end but it is so good for so long that it begs forgiveness.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment 2 Comments
01/02/09
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Viewers will likely guess Juliette's secret, but the strength of the film is that, despite its bleakness, you want to stay with Juliette to the very end to hear it from her mouth.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
12/26/08
Jenni Dawes
Jenni Dawes
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Each relationship is deftly, brilliantly sketched and the relationship snapshots are satisfyingly complex

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
12/12/08
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Filled with intricate emotions, this sensitive and beautifully restrained film blossoms from its austere beginnings to a rich and satisfying conclusion with finesse and elegance.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
12/12/08
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Un relato sensible y sutil sobre la reconstrucción de un vínculo interrumpido traumáticamente. Más que atendible debut en la dirección del escritor Philippe Claudel, con estupendas actuaciones de sus protagonistas femeninas.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
11/02/09
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Too predictable.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/06/09
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The well-drawn, intriguing characters and vividly realistic situations make for an interesting story that holds your attention. The conversations are natural and succinct.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum | comment Comment
03/20/09
Keith Cohen
Keith Cohen
Entertainment Spectrum

Philippe Claudel's "I've Loved You So Long" finds Kristen Scott Thomas giving one of last year's best performances in one of last year's better films.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
03/14/09
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

The last-act revelation leaves the audience off the hook in a way that's more common for a soothing Hollywood picture than this sort of challenging French import.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
03/10/09
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

In the hands of Kristin Scott Thomas it becomes the story of one woman's struggle with the events of her life...

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
03/07/09
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Remarkable directorial debut of French novelist Claudel.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
02/27/09
Josh Rosenblatt
Josh Rosenblatt
Austin Chronicle

Madeline Goes to Prison tops Madea Goes to Jail

Full Review Source: Richmond.com | comment Comment
02/27/09
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
Richmond.com

Reminds us of how truly brilliant filmmaking needs none of the technology and bombast Hollywood has come to depend on.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/26/09
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Don't let the Harlequin Romance title fool you.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
02/26/09
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Claudel has made a very special kind of star vehicle -- the kind that's also a very good movie overall.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
02/20/09
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

The movie's fascinating when it tracks Juliette's tentative, almost unwilling progress back into society.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
02/13/09
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

The ending is a cop-out: It lets the audience off the hook while congratulating it for its empathy.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
02/09/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Thomas and Zylberstein are exceptional beyond the film itself, which demands deliberation and made me wish that it delivered a more memorable payoff for that patience.

Full Review Source: Tulsa World | comment Comment
02/06/09
Michael Smith
Michael Smith
Tulsa World

The detail in I've Loved You So Long is incredible. There's a tightness of structure that makes no moment seem inessential.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
02/03/09
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Latest News for I've Loved You So Long

March 02, 2009: RT on DVD: Exclusive Australia Scene, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and More!
This week on DVD we've got a sweeping historical epic from Down Under (Baz Luhrmann's Australia, plus an exclusive deleted scene), a tale of talking pooches (Beverly Hills... More...

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