For the high-minded, literary, and formally invested viewers who are receptive to how she works and what she worries about, the film offers a starkly insinuating exercise in the contemplation of love.
La Captive (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:10
Fresh:7
Rotten:3
Average Rating:6.7/10
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: The fifth volume of Marcel Proust's legendary novel REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST is the source for veteran French feminist filmmaker Chantal Akerman's remarkable film LA CAPTIVE. Following a theme... The fifth volume of Marcel Proust's legendary novel REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST is the source for veteran French feminist filmmaker Chantal Akerman's remarkable film LA CAPTIVE. Following a theme common in her past films--the impossibility of true knowledge of the other, Akerman crafts a severe and stilted chamber drama out of Proust's evocative and poetic text. Simon (Stansilas Merhar) is a wealthy and sensitive French man living in a posh, if cloistered, life in Paris. Ariane (Sylvie Testud) is Simon's lover and constant companion, as well as the subject of his irritated obsessions. Not satisfied with merely loving Ariane, Simon aches to have absolute knowledge of her-- her past, her present, her thoughts, and her deeds. When having her accompanied at every moment does not satisfy him, Simon begins to follow her everywhere she goes, questioning acquaintances, and constructing elaborate fictions around her every action. Suspecting her of a secret life filled with love for other women and a true happiness to which he is not privileged, Simon attempts to penetrate Ariane's aloof and opaque façade, only to bring their impossible love to a breaking point. Akerman's tight and constrained style, assisted by stylized acting, creates a complex and compelling portrait of the tragedy inherent in love. [More]
Starring: Stanislas Merhar, Sylvie Testud, Liliane Rovere, Aurore Clement
Starring: Stanislas Merhar, Sylvie Testud, Liliane Rovere, Aurore Clement, Olivia Bonamy, Francoise Bertin
Director: Chantal Akerman
Director: Chantal Akerman
Screenwriter: Chantal Akerman, Eric de Kuyper
Producer: Paolo Branco
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Release:
Jan 27, 2004
Reviews for La Captive
La Captive is so good that it makes amends for A Couch in New York, Akerman's simply dreadful 1996 English-language love story.
It's like an even more inert version of Antonionis LAvventura without the overriding mystery that made that film so compelling and enduring.
The investigation into passion is intriguing, but sadly, the solemnity suppresses the fascination.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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