Finding love again with «Mon inconnue»

Cinema Wednesdays - Loris S. Musumeci

Olivia and Raphaël - with the umlaut over the «e»! - fall in love in ten minutes. And off they go for another ten years. It just goes to show that love at first sight does exist, but that it can also fade away. During their years together, the two lovebirds developed professionally, each according to his or her own dreams. Olivia became a pianist, not necessarily with the success she deserved, but she's not complaining: she's happy. As for Raphaël, he's blown it all. From the teenager who scribbled stories in his little notebook, he has become a hugely successful writer. To the point where he's starting to ignore his wife, because he's tired, between TV appearances and meetings with his admirers. She's fed up and lonely. He doesn't care.

Argument. And the next morning, he wakes up in another dimension. Without Olivia, without his success. He's a college literature professor. Without quite believing it, he finds himself lost and dejected in his new life. Olivia, on the other hand, has risen to the stars; she's a star. Now she's making the headlines and the rounds on TV: renowned pianist, adored pianist, fulfilled pianist. Raphaël must do everything in his power to win her back, even if she's virtually unattainable and even if she knows nothing about him - because he quickly realizes that he can't live without her.

A fantastic romantic comedy

My stranger, a romantic comedy with a not inconsiderable touch of the fantastic. And it's French. Ouch, ouch, ouch, it smells like cata’! You bet, Charles! Point of cata’ at all. At least not for me, who totally fell under the spell of this comedy, which is indeed a comedy, romantic, which is very romantic, and fantastic, which is also fantastic. Even if the latter dimension is less important than the other two. And that's just as well. There's just enough here. Just enough to give the script a touch of originality that turns the lives of the two lovers upside down. 

Let's talk about the two lovers. Let's talk about these two actors: Joséphine Japy and François Civil. They're great: not because they're playing the most difficult roles, nor because they're performing any kind of feat. No, they simply play their roles, very well, in their place, without trying too hard, and doing more than enough. And how beautiful they are! Two beautiful people, a beautiful couple. In addition to their physical dispositions, they charm the audience with their truth, their humor and their subtle game of seduction. François Civil has class; he's a French Andrew Garfield. And let's not even talk about Joséphine Japy. This woman is sublime. With her pure face, her Audrey Hepburn softness. I think I've fallen in love.

One thing's for sure: they're worth a thousand times more than the two clowns from Fifty Shades of I don't know what. Of course, it's also thanks to a whole range of things. We laugh, we cry, we have fun, we think about lost love. The script gives each of them lines that work perfectly. Why is that? Because the text matches their acting. François Civil is a class act, of course, but he also combines, through his attitude and his words, the maturity of a man who has already come a long way and the bonhomie of a young guy dreaming of love. Joséphine Japy is very beautiful, but she also plays the spontaneity of a girl who wants to free herself to lead a crazy life. Thanks to the actors, thanks to the script by Hugo Guélin and his two co-writers.

Hugo, you've made us very happy! The director doesn't just perfume the atmosphere with a little rosewater and a few laughs here and there. Hugo Guélin talks about love. And, of course, not the kind of love that ultimately goes well, but the kind of love that suffers. Because of neglect, because of weariness. My stranger, is a film about nostalgia for the shadow of a lost love. My stranger, is a film about the nostalgia of a love to be rediscovered. We can't say it often enough: nostalgia is believing in the eternal return. 

Can love be found again?

What, moreover, is it to really know someone? What does it mean to fall in love? What is choosing to love? What is self-sacrifice? What is it to give oneself? The film doesn't answer these questions. It poses them, and guides us towards snatches of an answer through the story of Olivia and Raphaël. But the main question remains: is it possible to find love again? Ah! the heartbreak of so many hearts, the daydreams of so many idylls. Can Raphaël get his life back? Can he make Olivia fall in love with him again? It doesn't really matter, because the question is enough in itself. To ask this question in our lives is already to live, to explode from within, to bubble with desire, to laugh, to enjoy, to drink, to cry, to smile, to think about tomorrow, to wake up to the past. To move forward and be happy. 

I'm getting a little carried away. Such is the effect, perhaps exaggerated, of My stranger about me. All this excitement almost made me forget that the romantic comedy in question is even stepping onto the stage of great cinema, all things considered of course. Frankly, the shots are a pleasure to watch. From the sparkling city to the Camargue and its pink flamingos, to evenings on the beach after a glass of rosé. Music, as Olivia is a pianist, is very present, although it could have played a more important role and had more impact. Classical music doesn't have the monopoly. Visit Dancing in the Moonlight at the end makes the breath of a chest that has been moved and laughed at dance. 

Not forgetting the incredible tribute paid to The shape of water which won the Oscar for Best Film in 2018. A kiss underwater, bodies entwined around a so-called impossible love that nevertheless plunges into the passion of an aquatic beast and a mute woman; of Raphaël and Olivia. I don't want to be told that my article is all about blabla because you can't make good movies with good feelings. My answer is ready: you can't make good films with good feelings, but you can make an excellent romantic comedy with real feelings. To find love again, with my stranger.

Write to the author: loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Frenetic Films