Part romantic comedy and part black comedy, director Yann Samuell's 2003 feature film debut Jeux d'Enfants (Love Me if You Dare) follows the exploits of two young would-be lovers as they go from childhood to adulthood with themselves as the greatest hurdle to their own happiness. Julien and Sophie first meet at the age of eight when both are undergoing great trauma: Julien is watching his mother die and Sophie has become the focus of intense hazing at the hands of some fellow schoolmates. On one
fateful day, Julien decides to stick up for Sophie and pulls a practical joke on her tormentors. Henceforth, the two embark on a close friendship that revolves around daring each other to pull increasingly audacious practical jokes, rather than on the seemingly obvious intimate relationship they seem dangerously close to discovering at any moment. Jeux d'Enfants was selected for inclusion into the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival as well as that same year's Telluride International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
The elegantly photographed, unconventional French romance was apparently intended as a valentine to individual liberation. If so, rarely has the line between individual liberation and selfish irresponsibility seemed so blurry.
Movie characters don't have to be nice, but they do need to be interesting. Nastiness without intrigue translates, in whatever language, to 'annoying.'
The dreamlike amber washes and comic visual asides stress the otherness of the pair's reality, but seem to offer a limp excuse for their deluded exemption from empathy.
Love Me If You Dare presents a...cynical and often downright cruel perspective on relationships, though the film's bubbly look keeps it from becoming too dark.
Juvenile and selfish, Love Me If You Dare dares to entertain in an appalling manner depicting an affair adulterated by irrationality, irresponsibility, and immaturity. Inspired by Amélie in cinematic behavior and approach, Love Me If You Dare is an intriguing confusion communicating offensive and embarrassing messages
aggravated by improper humor.
I stopped watching this halfway through and, you know what, I don't feel even remotely bad about it. 2011 is too short to be spending with fictional douchebags!
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