Friday Night (2003)

Nice effects though.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This was a damn good movie. Very different, the closest movie that comes to the feel and over all effect is The Loss of Sexual Innocence. Movies such as this catch many off guard because they don't follow the de facto movie format. Meaning, an event happens, people react to said event, drama, conclusion, resolution.This movie takes a totally different approach, and that's what makes it shine. This movie defies being labeled as a movie altogether. People say this movie is boring, that nothing happens, there are almost no words. They'd be right, there is no real drama, conclusion, resolution. I don't believe that's what this movie is even about.From the opening moments of the Paris rooftops I knew I was in for something special. The long shots, the turning off of lights, the gazes at the Paris skyline. This was a visual feast with poetic credentials, and I expected as much.Folks, this movie was not about Jean and Laure. I believe thats where all the critical flack stems from. This movie isn't about a brief encounter that is over by sunrise. The plot that you all speak of, that's secondary.The movie tends to focus on their surroundings more so then them. A cluttered car, a heater, traffic, boxes. A best example of this is their skin, during the sex scenes there are close ups of their skin rather then showing them making love. As if the plot, in this case, making love, is secondary to the poetic element of the story.In any given event, the surroundings are just as important as the story itself. This movie displays that perfectly. That is the purpose of this movie, that is it's beauty, that is what it is about.If this movie is about the surroundings rather then a plot or story, then what would be the purpose of showing rooftops, skin, lamps, boxes? Because is it life, and it is poetic and beautiful. What is the purpose of a rose? Why take a picture of it, or give it to someone? A rose simply is, this movie simply is. The nuances of life deserve appreciation and this movie pays homage to that fact. That is what this movie is about.It is life, it is the beauty of everything around you.

Vendredi Soir (2002), directed by Claire Denis, is a film about tworesidents of Paris who come together because of a horrendous,citywide traffic jam. The movie is slow and deliberate, but notboring. The film's power derives from the interaction of twoattractive strangers who are temporarily trapped--and yetliberated--by the fact that mass transit is shut down, and autotraffic has come to a standstill.Valérie Lemercier portrays Laure, a young woman who has left herapartment to move in with her lover. Ms. Lemercier owes a greatdebt to Ms. Denis, who could have cast the part with a moretraditionally beautiful woman. (In the U.S., the role would probablyhave gone to Demi Moore.) Instead, the director chose an actorwho is undeniably beautiful, but in an interesting, complex way. Lemercier is an outstanding actor, and she is given enough timeon screen to demonstrate her professional skills.Don't see this film if you're looking for excitement, graphic sex,violence, or a strong narrative story line. See this film if you want toview Paris--and human relationships--portrayed in a serious, butalmost dreamlike, lyrical, fashion.

I understand how a number of people would find this movie difficult to enjoy. There are parts where you are unsure if they are real or if its the lead female fantasizing. Not much appears to happen unless you think about what you are seeing.The cinematography of this film is beautiful. There is a clear color palette to the key shots. Also so much information is given from the actor's and reactions. There is very little dialogue. The camera is used as a character in the film. It shows us the claustrophobic state that the lead female is feeling because a major change in her life. She is changing from a young woman to a domestic woman. The other comment refers to the female's beauty. Films control so much of our identity of beauty that we've forgotten that ordinary people exist. Also that someone might find an ordinary person to be attractive.

i love the french cinema, i am not bashing this film because i havent seen alot of foreign films but they have copied the american film industry and made a worthless clone of previous french films. okay maybe i am a little to hard, but when i watch a film i expect certain things and so it should be advertised as an experimental film. there is no drama just two people who have an affair in a hotel, so theres a little mood going on; a night, a transit strike. and to top if off there's even a director's commentary, about what? two people who meet with hardly any dialogue and hardly any chemistry? the dialogue is so muted at times that i couldn't even practice my french. i am so angry after watching this, a film that shouldnt even have been made.